Barbara has called on Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Transport for Greater Manchester bosses to take urgent action to address traffic congestion in and around Worsley and Eccles South.

Barbara renewed her calls for action after the road network in Salford, Bury and parts of Trafford and Manchester came to a standstill on Wednesday afternoon and evening. Traffic chaos appears to have been caused by a combination of a multi-vehicle accident on the M62, a football match at the Etihad Stadium and a jobs fair at Manchester Airport. The combination of these events with the usual congestion overwhelmed roads across Greater Manchester and left drivers stuck in their vehicles well into the evening. Local roads in Worsley and Eccles South suffered as a knock-on effect, with congestion on the A580 and A6 at even higher levels than normal.

Barbara had previously called on transport bosses to hold an urgent Traffic Summit which took place in December. At that time transport bosses said they felt unable to offer any short or medium-term solutions to the traffic problems. Barbara is now calling on transport bosses to look again and come up with solutions that will help ease local congestion.

Barbara said:

“The local road network in and around Worsley and Eccles South is at breaking point. The incidents on Wednesday highlight the fact that our roads do not have the resilience to cope with any extra pressures.

“Over the last year the volume of traffic in Salford has increased by 3.6%. This is three times more than the Greater Manchester average of 1.1%. That is a significant increase and it is affecting people’s lives. Clearly there are no simple solutions but I refuse to accept that there is nothing that can be done. I am calling on the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Transport for Greater Manchester to look again at ways to ease local traffic congestion.

“I am also asking local people for constructive ideas on how traffic congestion in Worsley and Eccles South can be relieved in the short to medium-term, such as changes to junctions or ideas for changes to traffic flow. Ideas can be sent in via the survey here. The deadline for sending in comments for this is 5pm on Friday 22nd January 2016. Suggestions will be put to Salford and Greater Manchester transport bosses for consideration.

“This problem is only going to get worse, which is why we need action now. I believe we have to try to do whatever we can to help improve the lives of local people stuck in this dreadful situation. I will continue to campaign on this issue until the necessary action is taken.”