CONSTRUCTION on the new slip roads for junction 5a on the M42 is set to begin this month.
National Highways will be constructing retaining walls for the new junction which is a key part of the£282million upgrade and once complete will alleviate congestion and provide motorists with smoother journeys.
Work is also set to begin on the installation of new overhead gantries which will give drivers real-time traffic advice.
From March 18 there will be a 50mph speed limit put into place and work will begin on creating narrow lanes in both directions.
These will be in place until spring 2024.
National Highways senior project manager, Leyton Rahman, said: “We’ve worked hard to keep disruption to a minimum throughout this scheme and we’ve now reached a point in the project where we need to put some roadworks in place on the mainline M42.
“The road will remain open to vehicles however there will be some overnight closures in the coming months while we demolish the old Solihull Road bridge.
“Safety is always our top priority, and our teams will be carrying out essential enabling works next to the M42 which means we need to limit the speed of vehicles travelling through the works area.
“We’d like to thank motorists for their patience and to allow additional time for their journeys.”
Elsewhere, the former Solihull Road bridge is due for demolition in May.
To complete this work safely, the M42 will be closed in both directions between junctions 5 and 6 from 10pm on May 5 to 5am on May 8.
The new Solihull Road bridge was successfully lifted into position October 2022 and is expected to open in summer 2023.
