The country's first toll motorway is on schedule to open to traffic by late January.
Midland Expressway Ltd says it is confident that the 27-mile M6 Toll, formerly known as the Birmingham Northern Relief Road, will welcome its first customers within the next 10 weeks.
Construction work on the £900 million highway project was now entering its final stages, managing director Tom Fanning told a news conference at the firm's headquarters in Weeford, Staffs.
"Opening a road is a very complex process and motorists' safety must be paramount," he said.
"We are confident that, working with our contractors and the Highways Agency, we will open the road by late January, which is the deadline we have all been working to."
Safety, operational and logistical matters needed to be finalised before the road - which is billed as offering a free-flowing alternative to the existing M6 - could open, he added.
MEL said the motorway would be the subject of a phased opening over a period of five days - with its use initially restricted to local motorists joining the route from Lichfield, Tamworth, Sutton Coldfield, Brownhills and Cannock.
The firm has been granted a 50-year concession to operate and maintain the M6 Toll, which will link junctions four and 11 of the M6.
It will also boast a 68-acre service area at Norton Canes, to be operated on a 25-year contract by RoadChef.
Highways Agency national traffic director David York said: "We are all agreed that phased opening to allow a gradual build-up of traffic is the safest method of introducing the M6 Toll into the adjacent network."
MEL announced in May a standard charge of £2 for cars, £5 for vans and £10 for HGVs.
It is hoped that the M6 Toll will save motorists approximately 45 minutes on an average journey time by avoiding the heavily-congested section of the M6 north of Birmingham.
The road's operators have had talks with the UK's leading hauliers and fleet operators to encourage them to use an electronic tag system to use the motorway.
Mr Fanning added: "Early sales of tags are encouraging. We believe the M6 Toll will become the route of choice for industry."
Potential users of the road can get further information on the MEL website, www.m6toll.co.uk, or call the information line on 0870 850 62 62.
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