Motorists braced for motorway misery as long-term roadworks begin

Motorists using the M6 in the West Midlands have been warned of possible disruption to their journeys with the start of repair work to a busy junction.

Later this month, Highways England will begin structural repairs to damaged concrete and renew the waterproofing of the elevated section of the northbound carriageway around junction 7, the exit for Great Barr.

As part of the work, new expansion joints will also be installed on the carriageway, which will allow movement within the road structure and add further water protection.

Highways England project manager, Jessica Kenny said: “If we don’t act now, water will cause more damage in the structure corroding the steel reinforcement bars and causing further damage to the concrete itself. Therefore, leaving it alone is not an option and it would mean bigger and more disruptive roadworks in future.

The work, set to start of February 20, is part of Highways England’s plan to build a modern and resilient road network. It forms part of an investment programme over the next five years and this latest work is part of a series of essential bridge maintenance schemes across the region.

It has been designed to be completed before a similar but much larger scheme gets under way in April on the M5 junction 1 to 2 Oldbury viaduct.

Highways England plans to complete the work at junction 7 within seven weeks with three narrow lanes introduced during the weekday to protect the workforce. Both the entry and exit slip road will remain open during the day but there will be some closures in place overnight.

The work on the elevated section of the M5 will take much longer, with estimates of up to 18 months.

During this time, main carriageways will be closed at certain periods with contraflows operating and speed limits set at 30mph.

The work is likely to cause widespread disruption and cause lengthy delays along what is, one of the busiest sections of motorway in the country.

Highways England is also mounting a further consultation on its proposals for the £64m scheme to modernise junction 10 of the M6, the exit for Walsall and Wolverhampton.

The scheme, backed by Walsall Borough Council and Highways England, will see two new bridges constructed, increasing the junction’s number of lanes from two to four. The Black Country Route (A454), which connects Walsall to Wolverhampton, will be widened from Junction 10 to the Bentley Mill Way bridge, with enhancements made to the Wolverhampton Road and Bloxwich Lane junction.

Improvements will also be carried out to pedestrian and cycle facilities at the junction.

Construction on this scheme is set to begin next year, with the work scheduled to take two years to complete.