Residents have had their say on works at M6 Junction 10 as bridge demolition begins
Neighbours say through the night motorway works are dazzling them with bright lights but admit it is necessary to tackle congestion.
National Highways has installed two wide bridges at Junction 10 of the M6 to help ease congestion as part of a £78 million project, with more work expected this weekend.
The next stage of the project, which started in 2020, will see the old bridges at the site demolished.
Work started last night and runs to Monday at 6am. One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “For over two years it has been a mess. The traffic is terrible now compared to what it used to be. I have been down here for 30 years, and there was hardly any cars back then, but now it is chaos.
“My windows are all double glazed so I don’t hear that much while the work is happening during the night. But it is the lights they are using, they are working all night so your house is like Blackpool illuminations all the while.”
Bill Burkitt, who lives nearby, said the work was necessary to address problematic congestion.
The 87-year-old said: “I can’t say I hear a lot but I am out more than I am in. I think they are going pretty well in my estimation. I welcome the work actually, motorways don’t last forever so it had to be upgraded somewhere along the line. I think it is good to see the upgrade, I don’t go that way many times but the congestion sometimes up there is a nightmare.”
Walsall Council leader Mike Bird said: “We are talking about £78m worth of upgrades. It is a fantastic feat of engineering and we’re looking forward to seeing the new island in operation.” The M6 last night closed in both directions between the junction 10 exit and entry slip roads and will remain shut until 6am on Monday for demolition of the old south bridge. A spokesman for National Highways said: “We need to close the M6 within Junction 10 so that we can safely demolish the old south bridge which has been replaced.
“We’ll divert M6 traffic up and over the junction during the closure. We’re also closing the M6 Junction 9 northbound entry slip road to reduce congestion on the approach to the closure. We’re expecting severe delays. The north bridge is expected to be removed later this month.” Resurfacing works are moving to the north side of the M6 junction 10 roundabout to raise the existing road surface up to the level of the new north bridge.
These works will start on Monday and require overnight closures until May 20. It includes a full closure of the A454 (Black Country Route) eastbound on the approach to the junction 10 roundabout.
See nationalhighways.co.uk for full details of resurfacing closures.
