More M6 motorway roadworks coming

Busy stretch at Great Barr will be affected for seven weeks before major work on the M5 in Oldbury gets under way

Roadworks will start later this month on a notoriously busy stretch of the M6 near Birmingham.

Highways England has announced the maintenance operation on the northbound side of the motorway at junction seven in Great Barr will commence on February 20.

The agency is carrying out structural repairs to damaged concrete and renewing the waterproofing of the elevated road structure.

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

The project is expected to take seven weeks to complete and will see three narrow lanes implemented on the motorway during the week to protect the workforce.

Both the entry and exit slip road will remain open during the day with some closures in place overnight.

Highways England’s 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 is part of Highways England’s investment plan over the next five years and this latest element is part of a series of bridge maintenance schemes across the region.

It has been designed to be completed before a similar but much larger scheme gets under way on the M5 between junctions one and two at the Oldbury Viaduct.