AN INVITATION to help beat congestion on the M60 between Eccles and Simister is being offered to local residents, businesses and motorists.

A series of public exhibitions is to be held to give motorway drivers and those people living and working nearby the chance to "vote" on ways of improving conditions on the busy stretch between junctions 12 and 18.

Visitors to the exhibition, organised by the Department of Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR), will be asked to put forward their views and vote on a collection of potential solutions.

Each person will be given five chips to "spend" in the way they believe will best help relieve congestion problems. However, the construction of new highways is not an option.

The choices include:

taking freight off the M60 and on to rail;

widening the M60;

reducing the cost of public transport;

investing in rail and Metrolink. Study manager Mike Hayward, from the Government Office for the North West, said: "We are eager to find out the views of not only local residents and businesses but a whole range of organisations affected by the problems on the motorway.

"By offering visitors to the exhibitions an opportunity to "vote", we are trying to find out what people's priorities are."

Mr Hayward said the aim of the M60 JETTS (Junction Eighteen To Twelve Transport Study) was to identify solutions to keep traffic flowing on the "heavily overloaded" part of the core road network and it would recommend a series of measures to address the most urgent transport problems.

He added: "Consultation with interested parties is a key part of this study and recommendations will only be made when all options have been fully considered."

Exhibitions are to be held in several locations over the next two weeks including one at Bury Interchange on Friday July 27 from 11am to 7pm and in Tesco at Prestwich on Tuesday July 31 from noon to 8pm.