Latest news straight to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

They’re the roads which move motorists to tears and make the daily commute a misery.

The Birmingham Mail can now reveal the worst spots in the region for traffic jams, delays and gridlock.

It emerged this week that West Midlands motorists spent 74 hours stuck in traffic last year – around 19 minutes every day.

The most congested road in the West Midlands is the M6 interchange with the M54 which takes commuters into Birmingham from the north according to research by traffic information company TomTom..

The stretch of highway, one of the busiest in Europe, pipped even the Aston Expressway as a constant source of frustration for motorists last year.

Where are the worst 10 routes in the Midlands?

Roadworks scheduled to last until the autumn have been taking place between J10a and J13 of the M6.

Safety restrictions including a 50mph speed limit have been imposed as the £87.5 million upgrade, which includes installing new signs, refuge areas and fences, takes place on the verges and hard shoulder of the motorway.

The southbound stretch of motorway was found to be the slowest highway in the West Midlands between J10A near the M54 and J7 for north Birmingham.

A link road has been proposed between the M54, M6 and M6 Toll to ease congestion.

In second place the Expressway, also known as the A38M, is frequently clogged up in both directions between the city centre and J6 of the M6 at Gravelly Hill.

Busy commuter routes in the top 10 also included the M42 heading north between J2 at Hopwood Park and J7 of the M6 interchange.

Drivers were also reduced to a crawl on a regular basis heading west on the A5 Watling Street in Staffordshire and the A4600 in Ansty Road in both directions through Coventry.

The top 10 was complied by traffic information service Inrix based on information from 2014.

The M6’s presence at the top of the list adds weight to the Birmingham Mail’s manifesto for the Midlands, which we have issued to prospective MPs in the General Election.

Readers polled want the M6 Toll Road nationalised and free to use, making an immediate difference to congestion. While motorways and main roads are clogged, the 20-mile highway is mostly unused.

John Lamb, of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, said: “There are a lot of delays going in and out of the city being caused by roadworks. At the same time the volume of traffic is going up.

“One day it took me nearly four hours to make a 40-mile round trip between Birmingham and my home in Coventry.

“There have also been enormous knock-on effects from minor and major incidents on the Expressway with other routes getting clogged up.”

The Highways Agency has reassured motorists that the works at the M6 interchange will result in better conditions in the future.

Click here for our light hearted look at the 28 things we've learned about traffic in Birmingham

The top ten in the region:

1: M6 from J10A M54 Interchange to J7 Birmingham (North)

2: A38M Aston Expressway

3: M42 from J2 Hopwood Park to J7 M6 Interchange

4: A5 Watling Street from Weeford to Brownhills

5: A454 Black Country Route from Pleck Road, Walsall to Bilston Road, Willenhall

6: A4600 Ansty Road from Coventry City Centre to M6 J2 Coventry (East)

7: A5 Watling Street from Atherstone (East) to M42 J10 Tamworth

8: A444 Bedworth By-Pass from Nuneaton to M6 J3: Coventry North

9: A4114 Holyhead Road from Coventry City Centre to the Allesley By-Pass

10: A429 Stratford Road from Warwick Town Centre to the M40 J15: Warwick