Continued Junction 10 roadworks spells M6 misery
Extended overnight roadworks and lane closures on the M6 will continue up to December 20, National Highways has revealed.
The highway maintenance group has announced that roadworks around Walsall's Junction 10, on the M6, will continue well into December, with Christmas drivers warned to plan well ahead before travel.
In the report, released by National Highways, full and partial lane closures will take place up until December 20, meaning some routes are likely to be diverted.
On the extended repairs, National Highways programme leader, Ashfaq Hussain, said: "Work on the upgrade of the junction has been impacted in recent weeks by a number of unexpected, external factors.
"We expect the majority of the works to be completed in the new year with the upgraded layouts of the Junction 10 roundabout, Black Country Route and Bloxwich Lane Junction set to open in January, bringing significant benefit for road users."
The route, a notorious bottleneck and susceptible to large queues and congestion, has been under constant repairs for around two-and-a-half years – with original repairs being planned to be completed in summer this year.
The long-running revamp is part of a £78 million project including replacing the bridges on the roundabout over the motorway with structures that can carry four lanes of traffic instead of two.
Major overnight closures to the M6 routes and their diversions are as follows:
Wednesday, December 14, full closure of the dedicated left turn from Wolverhampton Road eastbound into Bloxwich Lane. Traffic to be diverted along Wolverhampton Road to Green Lane and on to Stephenson Avenue to rejoin Bloxwich Lane - 8pm until 5am.
Saturday, December 17, and Sunday, December 18, lane closure on A454 Black Country Route westbound - 8pm until 5am.
Saturday, December 17 to December 19, lane closure on the northbound exit slip road - 10pm until 5am.
Monday, December 19, closure of the southbound exit slip road and partial roundabout closure with no access from Black Country Route - 10pm until 5am.
Tuesday, December 20, lane closures on approaches to Bloxwich Junction with four-way traffic lights to be put into place - 10pm until 5am.
The works are part of an initiative to improve road quality along stretches of the M6 while also improving drainage along the motorway and slip roads.
The revamp has so far been subject to many date changes, with work being extended from a few days up to a few months.
More extensions to repair times could come as Britain experiences a cold snap, spelling more trouble for the roads system.
The repairs come at a time of rail and transport strikes, giving would-be Christmas travellers even fewer options when it comes to cross-country travel.
Transport bosses have advised anyone travelling across the country for the Christmas period to plan their journey well in advance, especially if tackling the Junction 10 area of the M6.
A full detailed list of road closures and diversions can be found at nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/west-midlands/m6-junction-10-improvement
