Building bridges at M42 Junction 6 with public invited to find out more about upcoming closure

Two new bridges weighing a total of 2,050 tonnes are set to be moved into place over the M42 in Solihull next month with drivers urged to plan their journeys during the work.

National Highways is currently upgrading the well-known bottleneck at M42 junction 6 in a £282m project to allow smoother journeys on and off the A45 while also supporting access to Birmingham International airport and train station.

To create the new junction (5a) National Highways will be installing two new bridges across the M42 at the end of September.

To help keep motorists and construction teams safe while the work takes place, the M42 will be closed overnight and during the day from 10pm on Friday 30 September to 6am on Monday 3 October.

National Highways Programme Leader Anita Prashar said: “This is a significant milestone in this vital upgrade of the M42 at junction 6 and we’ve been working hard behind-the-scenes to make sure the work takes place with as little disruption as possible to motorists.

“Safety is always our top priority and given the scale of the work involved we will need to close the road so that our teams can work safely on the carriageway.

“There will be a fully signed diversion route in place during the closures and we’d remind drivers to plan their journeys before setting off to make sure they leave additional time for their trip.”

Those wishing to find out more about this phase of the work are invited to visit the National Highways mobile exhibition centre later this week.

Members of the project team will be available offering an opportunity to find out more about the diversion route and how the upgrade is progressing.

The times and dates are:

• Thursday 1st September, 9am to 5pm – Morrisons, 1149 Warwick Rd, Acocks Green, Birmingham B27 6RA
• Friday 9th September, 9am to 5pm – Tesco Extra, Shirley, 1505 Stratford Rd, Shirley, Solihull, B90 4EN

Anita added: “We’d encourage people to come along and speak to us at the events as we’re always keen to hear feedback on issues and provide information to help keep moving.”

Preparation works to harden the central reservation around the location of the new junction have already taken place ahead of the new bridges being moved into position.

To find out more about the project, visit the M42 junction 6 web page.

Notes to Editors

National Highways is the wholly government-owned company responsible for modernising, maintaining and operating England’s motorways and major A roads.

Real-time traffic information for England’s motorways and major A roads is available via the Traffic England website, local and national radio travel bulletins, electronic road signs and mobile apps. Local Twitter services are also available.

For further information please contact National Highways' press office (24hrs) on 0844 693 1448 and select the most appropriate option:

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