Anger over M6 closure
The M6 will be closed overnight this weekend, leading to eighteen-mile diversions on one of the busiest getaways of the year.
The M6 will be closed overnight this weekend, leading to eighteen-mile diversions on one of the busiest getaways of the year.
Drivers were today warned of traffic delays as a 12-mile stretch of the motorway is shut for roadworks.
The decision to close the motorway this weekend, when thousands of families are expected to set off on holiday as schools break up, was today branded a "disgrace".
Highways bosses today announced that the southbound section of the M6 between Junction 11 at Cannock and Junction 7 at Great Barr will be shut from 10pm on Friday until 8am on Saturday and again from 8pm on Saturday until 10am on Sunday.
From 10pm on Friday to 8am on Saturday the northbound link at M6 Junction 10A to the M54 west will also be closed. The northbound side of the M6 will remain open.
The work is being carried out as part of a £150 million project to open up the hard shoulder and impose variable speed limits. It will mean miles of detours.
Drivers will be sent along the A449 through Wolverhampton, back onto the A454 Willenhall Road through Walsall and onto the A34 and along the Birmingham Road before rejoining the motorway at Junction 7.
Highways Agency Spokeswoman Hannah Brookes said today: "We will be carrying out works overnight as traffic flows are lower.
"We are aware people will be heading off on holidays, but closures will not be put in place until traffic drops. The carriageway and slip roads could be reopened earlier than we are expecting."
But Wolverhampton Councillor Milkinder Jaspal, a former transport chief, said it was "disgraceful" to close the motorway on such a busy weekend.
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