Birmingham's Spaghetti Junction roadworks spell January blues

The £5 million scheme, which involves water-proofing the famous junction on the M6 in Birmingham, was halted in September as the first phase came to a close.

It was also paused to help ease delays during the grand re-opening of New Street Station, the ribbon-cutting of Grand Central and the Rugby World Cup games at Villa Park. Frank Bird, emergency planning manager for the West Midlands for Highways England, said: "We've been able to suspend work at Gravelly Hill because we'd reached the end of the first phase of the project."

But in a new statement to motorists, officials confirmed the roadworks at junction six and the A38(M) will restart in January.

The M6 has long been plagued by roadworks as it upgrades to become a managed motorway with variable speed limits and drivers able to go in the hard shoulder during peak times. There are also repairs ongoing at the M6 and M5 link, which have caused misery for motorists though Wednesbury, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

That scheme, which resulted in the closure of the Junction 9 southbound slip road on to the M6, will end next month.

Wednesbury South councillor Bob Lloyd, who has been helping campaign for an end to delays on the M6, said the Spaghetti Junction work would ignite problems again.

"It is just constant at the moment," he said. "Just as one seems to be done another gets going. I guess it is due to the age of the motorways in the area now." Councillor Lloyd backed calls by leaders from the West Midlands Combined Authority to open up the M6 Toll to more motorists in a bid to ease congestion.

No agreement was reached with the Government before the announcement over the new combined authority devolution deal.

But Councillor Lloyd said it could help as a long-term way to ease jams at the congestion hotspot in the Black Country. "At the moment it isn't going to happen but I hope it will be looked at again," he said.