Drivers warned to brace for delays as M6 closes for urgent repairs

Highways England is resurfacing parts of the motorway near junction seven, for Great Barr, following ‘one of the wettest winters on record’.

Work begins tomorrow night with the northbound carriageway to close overnight between junction six, at Spaghetti Junction, to junction eight, where the M6 joins the M5.

The work runs until March 4.

Safety

Highways England team leader Jessica Kenny said: “Safety is always our top priority and This repair work is essential. We know that the winter weather can cause problems such as potholes so to combat this recurring issue, we are going to install new waterproofing material and a new road surface to keep it in a safe condition. We’d like to thank motorists for their patience while this work takes place.”

The majority of the maintenance work is happening on the northbound carriageway of the M6 near J7 for Great Barr.

Highways England has scheduled the work to take place overnight which is when the road is at its most quiet period.

A spokesman said the conditions of the road surface has deteriorated due to one of the wettest years on record mixed with freezing temperatures over winter.Water has found its way into the carriageway, frozen and then lifted and broke part of the road surface as it thawed. Ground crews will also install replacement expansion joints in the carriageway to allow for movement in the structure and improve water protection.

Resilient

The work comes after structural repairs were carried out to damaged concrete on the hard shoulder and lane one, also known as the inside lane. The structural repairs took place last year as part of Highways England’s plan to build a modern and resilient road network.

During the latest work, there will also be some lane closures with the speed limit reduced to 40mph. The M6 northbound between J6 and J8 will close tomorrow and Thursday night for traffic management to be installed.

There will be a full overnight closure for both lanes between J6 and J8 on Friday. Daytime traffic restrictions will be in place on Friday on the northbound carriageway between J6 and J8 with three narrow lanes in place.

On Saturday (24) and Sunday (25), a full overnight closure will be in place between J7 and J8, so three narrow lanes can be set up for Monday from 6am. During the day Between 6am and 10pm on both days, there will only be a hard shoulder running between J6 and J8.

On Monday, there will be a full overnight closure of the northbound carriageway between J6 and J8. Joint works will be taking place and narrow lanes will be removed, with the carriageway returned to full capacity for Tuesday morning. From February 27 to March 4, there will be full overnight closures of the northbound carriageway between J7 and J8.