End in sight to M6 roadworks misery

Months of misery on the M6 will end when narrow lanes and 50mph speed limits are removed in the next fortnight.

Both sides between Junctions 8 and 10 near Walsall will return to normal by January 23.

Work will still continue to open up the fourth lane. But drivers will be forced off the M6 four times in the next fortnight due to roadworks.

The southbound carriageway between Junctions 10 (Walsall) and 7 (Great Barr) will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday next week from 9.30pm to 5.30am.

The northbound M6 between Junctions 8 (Wednesbury) and 10 will be closed from 10pm to 9am next Sunday. Traffic heading north will have to leave the motorway at Junction 8 again on Monday, January 17.

The work is part of the £150million scheme to open up the hard shoulder to traffic during rush hour and impose variable speed limits.

It has been going on since February, and drivers have been having to use narrow lanes at 50mph or less.

The work has been a constant problem for residents on Walsall's Beechdale estate who say it has disturbed their sleep.

Mother of two Kay Holland, aged 49, of Murdock Way, said: "It cannot finish soon enough for us. We would have preferred it to have never started at all."

Highways Agency project manager Paul Unwin said: "The work being carried out includes carriageway resurfacing, mounting of electronic equipment on gantries, removal of narrow lanes and the installation of permanent white lining and road studs.

"We will also be carrying out cabling works, installing traffic detectors in the carriageway, testing newly installed electronic signs and removing redundant equipment and cabling."