Will works on M6 ever finish? Junction 10 chaos continues after latest set of delays
Long-running roadworks to improve Junction 10 of the M6 have been delayed once again.
Motorists were today warned to prepare for another week of chaos.
National Highways insists it is in the final stages of improving the junction where the A454 Black Country Route meets the motorway.
Bosses of the £78 million project, which has involved replacing the bridges on the roundabout over the motorway with structures that can carry four lanes of traffic instead of two, were hoping it would be completed last autumn.
That deadline came and went and a new date was given for the end of January.
Now that has also been and gone and National Highways has announced a week of road closures, lane restrictions and long diversions.
It creates a new headache for tens of thousands of motorists who use the junction, which links Walsall and Wolverhampton to the M6.
And it will mean more lost business for night-time businesses, including hotels and fast-food restaurants, that sit alongside the junction, who will be effectively cut off during night-time closures.
The roadworks will run from 9pm to 5am through next week.
No date has yet been given for the project to come to an end, other than an “expected end of spring 2023”.
That means they will have run for more than two years in total.
National Highways spokesman Ashfaq Hussain said: “Last year we said we’d be opening the new layouts for the Junction 10 roundabout, the Black Country Route and Bloxwich Lane junction, by the end of January 2023. Unfortunately, as much of the work at this stage is weather dependant, this has been impacted by the recent severe weather.
“Unexpected issues have also been encountered with drainage and the installation of telecommunications cables.
“We’re now in the final stages and will get the roundabout open to its full capacity during the daytime this spring.
“This will provide a significant improvement to the previous layout and improve journey times.”
He added: “We’ll complete the remaining work – which includes installing the permanent traffic signals – overnight, when the roads are quieter.
"Much of the work at this stage is weather dependant, such as resurfacing, and has been impacted by the recent severe weather. Unexpected issues have also been encountered with drainage and the installation of telecommunications cables.
"We are in the final stages of this much-needed work and will get the junction open to its full capacity as soon as we can. We are sorry for any inconvenience the work has caused and appreciate people’s patience while we strive to complete this complex project and tackle congestion at this busy junction."
They have also laid out full details of the diversions as they install high friction surfacing and permanent road markings to sections of the roundabout.
There will also be lighting columns installed on the Black Country Route, which is said to require overnight lane closures – National Highways said these dates may be subject to change at short notice, due to "unforeseen circumstances or poor weather conditions".
