Government ministers have been urged to tackle congestion by investing millions of pounds widening the M62 in West Yorkshire.

Business and transport leaders have teamed up to press Transport Secretary Alistair Darling to give a green light to vital improvements.

The six-strong partnership believes widening the motorway between junction 25 and 32 by just 12ft - one lane - would reduce traffic hold-ups.

And this would make it quicker and more efficient for businesses to transport goods by road from Bradford, it is claimed.

Freight could reach docks at Hull and Liverpool, or reach the M1 or A1 in less time - making the city's industry more competitive.

The group - comprising the AA, British Chambers of Commerce, Confederation of British Industry, Freight Transport Association, the RAC Foundation and Road Haulage Association - is hammering home the message using an advertising campaign with the slogan: "Relief from congestion is just 12ft wide."

In an open letter to Mr Darling, the industry said: "Motorways carry a fifth of all road traffic and are also our safest roads. But parts of them are severely congested, causing disruption to the distribution of goods and services and the diversion of traffic on to less suitable routes."

The letter pointed out the Government was committed to increasing railway investment by 48 per cent by 2009 - yet roads carried 64 per cent of freight and 92 per cent of passenger traffic.

The letter continued: "Widening the most congested parts of the M62 by an extra lane will increase their safe capacity by a third and make journeys easier for all of us."

Neil Martin, the Road Haulage Association's northern chairman, described the M62 in West Yorkshire as a "major bottleneck".

Mr Martin, managing director of Winterham Haulage, Birstall, said: "Clients want their goods on time but it can be difficult to say how long it will take us to get out of West Yorkshire.

"It costs us money every time our vehicles are stood on the motorway, which we have to incorporate into customers' costs."

He called for roads policy to overseen by an independent body.

Roads Minister David Jamieson said the Highways Agency's study of the motorway network - and recommendations about its future - would be handed to Mr Darling in the autumn.

He said the agency was looking at alternatives to road widening including narrower lanes, using the hard shoulder as an extra lane, controlling access to the M62 and providing motorists with better traffic information.