The closure of the city's road network in order to detonate a wartime bomb may have cost companies in the region a minimum of £6 million, business leaders said today.
Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC) said the resulting gridlock, which saw a section of the M6 closed this afternoon and city streets shut since yesterday morning, would have had severe ramifications for the region's economy.
There was also major disruption to train services as commuters and shoppers had to find alternative routes into Birmingham or stay away altogether.
Paul Faulkner, chief executive of the chamber, said: "The discovery of the unexploded bomb will have had a serious impact for Birmingham's businesses and should not be under-estimated.
"It could have cost firms at least £6 million across the two days.
"It is difficult to put an accurate estimate on the cost of the disruption to business and the figure may be much higher, especially when we also take into account the huge numbers of drivers who pass through the Birmingham area on the M6.
"They would have been forced to pay on the Toll Road or find alternative routes. Our figures are based on the latest figures for the cost of congestion in the region which we have estimated to be £3 million a day.
"But the impact would not just have been on businesses in the Birmingham area, with a huge number of haulage firms and travellers going north and south having to find alternative routes.
"The closure of the M6 at Spaghetti Junction caused a huge area of the city and its surroundings to be gridlocked during the rush hour as people found alternative routes and those who normally travelled by train took to the road.
"Despite the crippling impact on road and rail, our feedback was that Birmingham's city centre workforce demonstrated the determined spirit of the Blitz and battled into work.
"However, we did get some reports of absenteeism.
"Where possible, staff were allowed to work from home and many found alternative ways of getting into their offices.....however, there will have been a considerable loss of business in the city centre, with many shoppers deterred from coming in.
"An incident like this does demonstrate how fragile the transport system is in Birmingham and the wider region. That's why we are supporting regional transport initiatives designed to ease gridlocks."
