YORKSHIRE motorists know it - and now it's official!
The M62 is now the fourth most congested motorway in the country.
The route - carrying hundreds of thousands of vehicles high above the Pennine moors near Huddersfield - is regularly blocked, says traffic monitoring company Trafficmaster.
The motorway has leapt up the national league table, as it was close to the bottom only a couple of years ago.
But it still lags behind the M25 and the M6.
Yorkshire Area Manager of the Road Haulage Association Margaret Edmonds said: "There is a serious problem on parts of the M62. There is massive congestion, particularly at peak times."
There are several problem areas along the busy stretch from Huddersfield to Leeds.
Worst areas include the Chain Bar interchange, near Cleckheaton, at the junction of the M606.
Another big trouble spot is junction 27, which links with the M621 into Leeds and serves the huge retail park near Birstall, which has been built next to the motorway.
Mrs Edmonds said that much of the congestion was down to poor planning.
She said: "The minute they build a decent road, the planners put something on it causes so much disruption."
Malcolm Bingham, regional policy manager of the Freight Transport Association, said: "We did a survey to see which roads needed more investment and the M62 came top of that list."
Highways Agency officials are looking at ways to improve the M62. Ideas include use of the hard shoulder at peak times, but this could deny emergency services access past long tailbacks to accidents.
