Press release

Bridge maintenance to be carried out on M6 near Great Barr

Motorists are being advised to allow extra time when travelling through Great Barr in the West Midlands as essential bridge maintenance work begins.

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The work is taking place on the southbound carriageway of the M6 between junction 7 for Great Barr and junction 8 to facilitate concrete repairs to the bridges carrying the motorway over the Rushall canal and over the M5 to M6 southbound link road. This work will be followed by renewing the waterproofing and surfacing.

Highways England project manager Jessica Kenny said:

Safety is our top priority, and therefore traffic management will be required throughout the length of the scheme to enable our workforce to access the bridges, and to protect the travelling public.

We recognise that this is a busy section of the motorway and we are doing everything we can to ensure that disruption is kept to a minimum by keeping two lanes open for the vast majority of the time. We are doing our very best to complete them as quickly as possible, keeping disturbances and noise to a minimum.

As part of the work, the southbound carriageway will be reduced to two narrow lanes with a temporary 40mph speed limit for the duration of the works.

In addition, there may also be additional overnight lane closures and full closures of the carriageway as work gets underway. The overnight work will ensure traffic levels are at their lowest, to minimise disruption to road users.

Maintenance work on the northbound carriageway is also being planned. In preparation, work will take place on the verge and hard shoulder during the school summer holiday period under overnight lane closures.

Work will begin on Friday night (6 May) and is expected to last until Christmas.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

Published 5 May 2016