HAULIERS have renewed calls for the M62 near Huddersfield to be widened.

Yorkshire members of the Freight Transport Association want the motorway to be widened to four lanes in each direction between Junction 23 at Outlane and Junction 33, near Knottingley.

That section of the M62 is one of six "essential trade routes" which the association says are badly hit by congestion.

The association is also demanding four lanes each way along the M1 through South Yorkshire to Junction 42 at Wakefield.

And it wants the A1 to be upgraded to motorway standard throughout the region.

Other routes highlighted as congestion blackspots are the A64 between York and Scarborough and major roads in East Yorkshire and north Lincolnshire.

A major study commissioned by the Government two years ago concluded that the M62 should be widened between Junction 25 at Brighouse and Junction 32 at Castleford.

The association's Yorkshire council chairman, Mark Sutcliffe, said members were deeply worried about delays in decisions by the Government to improve motorways in West and South Yorkshire following the independent study.

He added: "The M1 and M62 have been identified by members for some time as being essential trade routes that desperately need widening. The Government must finalise proposals to bring about positive improvements."

His call was backed by the Huddersfield-based Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce. Spokeswoman Janet Donald said improvements to the motorway network were vital if the northern economy was to flourish.

She added: "There are calls for more ships to use the Humber ports, which means more freight and more traffic.

"If it cannot be accommodated on the motorways it will spill on to smaller roads."