A notorious West Midlands road has been named second in the entire country for traffic growth in the last few years. The surge in the number of cars had added to traffic delays on Birmingham’s Hagley Road and put extra time onto frustrated drivers’ journeys.
Few things are more infuriating for motorists than being sat helplessly stuck in traffic. The A456 Hagley Road is one of the busiest routes in and out of Birmingham and tailbacks can build up at peak times. New data shows traffic on the A456 surged by 357% between 2021 and 2023.
While some of the increase will have been linked to the end of the Covid pandemic, it put the A456, which stretches down to Kidderminster, second on the list main roads for traffic growth. Only the A54, which runs from the East Midlands to the North West, experienced a higher increase in congestion over the two-year period.
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The data was revealed by motoring experts at Dick Lovett, who said: “The research, which analysed data from the Department for Transport’s ‘Road Traffic Statistics’ found the roads in the UK which have seen the biggest increase in traffic in recent years (2021-2023), revealing that the A54 – the road linking Chester and Buxton – has seen the largest increase in traffic, up 367%.
“Whether your trip is long or short, most of us will hit an A-road at some point, and Dick Lovett’s research found that these were actually the ones with the biggest increase in traffic in recent years. Following the A54, research reveals drivers taking the A456 road this winter could expect to see the second-most congestion, with this road seeing a 357% increase in traffic in recent years. The A456 runs between Birmingham and Shropshire.”