How DO you get on to the M6 Toll?

A lack of signs linking the M54 with the the paid-for motorway, one the main routes through the Midlands, causes widespread confusion.

And, according to business leaders in the area, it could also be holding back the growth of the economy.

At present, there are few signs directing traffic between the M54 and the M6 Toll.

Motorway signs alongside the M54 which runs near Wolverhampton do not give any indication of the proximity of the toll road.

And on the M6 Toll itself, signs leading people to Shropshire do not begin to appear until drivers are almost at the road's end and the link with the M6 itself.

Even signs listing the nearest service stations overlook the presence of the main road, listing those on the M6 and M54 but not the Norton Canes Services between Junctions T6 and T7.

Shropshire Chamber of Commerce chief executive Richard Sheehan, said: "Our visibility as a county is something we continuously strive in both the private and public sectors, and we work very hard to raise the profile of what we have to offer in terms of our tremendous work/life balance.

"We are probably held back by a limited level of signage to support that aspiration on our motorway links into the wider Midlands and beyond.

"People visit the county with money in their pockets, stay in accommodation and spend on the high street to support the local economy, so it is vitally important we make that visible as possible."

He added: "Even subliminally, showing a simplified route to get here is a good way to thrive and to attract people in.

"Potential sales people setting up or working with our companies here, it's vitally important we are getting our share."

The M6 Toll could do with the additional custom brought about by improved links with Shropshire's own road network.

The £900 million motorway carries around half the 70,000 vehicles it was expected to service every year, and drivers instead continue to use the clogged-up M6 to bypass Birmingham.

Cars pay £5.50 to use the road at peak times, while to pull a trailer costs £10, and vans, coaches and HGVs must shell out £11 for a trip along the 27 mile stretch of asphalt between Cannock and Coleshill.

Along with the absence of adequate signage, drivers are also thwarted in their attempts to make better use of the M6 Toll by the road that leads to it from the M54.

Even allowing for the level of signage, there remains a single-carriageway route with speed limits rarely topping 40mph – the A460 which slows drivers down through the village of Featherstone. Attempts to improve links from the M54 to both the M6 Toll and the northbound M6 remain a key infrastructure point for county business leaders.

"It' is well recognised that when you are trying to attract inward investment, that the infrastructure needs to be there to support that," Mr Sheehan said.

"Businesses looking to relocate can choose from right across Europe and have a huge selection of different locations."