M6 gantries cut back to protect residents

The number of towering new gantries to be built as part of a £126.4 million project to open up a section of hard shoulder on the M6 has been reduced to avoid disruption to nearby residents.

Bosses behind the motorway scheme have also vowed to try and locate the 20 newly-built gantries behind trees and in natural dips so they do not spoil views from residents' bedroom windows.

A 10-mile stretch of the hard shoulder will be opened up between junction eight for Great Barr and junction five for Castle Bromwich.

Wolverhampton-based construction firm Carillion has won the contract for the project, which will involve 150 workers and create more jobs down the supply chain for sub-contractors.

Highways Agency bosses said they would re-use 15 existing gantries instead of installing new ones and vowed that the only lighting being added to the new stretch would be at emergency refuge areas so neighbours will not be disturbed.

For residents in Great Barr, near to the planned work, designers have planned for one gantry to be re-sited behind tall trees in a bid to avoid complaints.

The project comes after work to open up a stretch of the hard shoulder on the M6 during busy periods between junction eight and 10a at Essington, which has been billed a success.

Rob Edwards, project manager from the Highways Agency, said: "If people have an issue with the work, I am quite prepared to meet with them at their house to see the impact.

"The idea has been to site infra-structure in as hidden a location as possible. We have a reduced number of gantries and have tried to hide those new ones".

Site clearance will begin later this month ahead of the work starting in April.

By Alex Homer