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The Motorway: Life in the Fast Lane

Julian Barratt

Emma Hogan

Molly Byford

Adam McKinney

Jackie McKinney-Dyer

Charlotte Wassermann

Toby Paton

Zac Beattie

Spencer Kelly

Barnaby Peel

The Motorway: Life in the Fast Lane: Episode 1: Weight of Traffic

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Factual

Weight of Traffic

Episode 1

Episode 1: Weight of Traffic

BBC Two - The Motorway: Life in the Fast Lane, Weight of Traffic

An army of workers carry out overnight repairs to the M6, to the ire of local residents.

Documentary series on one of Britain's busiest stretches of motorway. An army of workers carry out overnight repairs to the M6, to the ire of local residents.

Documentary following the army of workers overseeing and making repairs to the M6, the UK's major arterial motorway, and local residents Jim and Alan who live just 20 metres from where the roadworks are taking place. Built more than 40 years ago, the M6 carries up to 8,000 vehicles every hour and the surface needs constant maintenance. With the need to keep the heavy traffic flowing at all times competing with the constant need to make repairs, it is a battle to stop it all grinding to a halt.  

For the last six years, there has been a succession of roadworks on this stretch of the motorway resulting in a string of complaints from Jim who has the Highways Agency number permanently 'logged in his phone'. With the latest roadworks again scheduled during the night when the motorway is at its quietest, Jim knows what to expect - 'you start seeing orange lights flashing and at 3 and 4 in the morning it's disco time'. For Alan, the noise of the roadworks outside his home is 'like a war game' and he ponders whether his next move is to call the 24-hour hotline or email his local MP. A few doors down, Jim has armed himself with a decibel meter to record the sound levels in the hope that someone will realise how 'unbearable' the disruption is.  

Meanwhile, Jim and Alan are not the only ones having sleepless nights as the safety inspectors working the graveyard shift go on the lookout for heavy-freight truckers breaking the rules and a team of workers carry out the repairs to a four-mile stretch of the M6.

BBC Two

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Documentary series looking at one of Britain's busiest stretches of motorway.

Documentary series following the workers who keep the traffic flowing on one of the busiest stretches of road in Britain, where the country's longest motorway, the M6, meets four other major routes.

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The Motorway: Life in the Fast Lane

Episode 1: Weight of Traffic

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