The M42 motorway will be closed for four weekends over the summer to allow for HS2 construction work, affecting travellers heading to Birmingham Airport and the National Exhibition Centre (NEC). The closures, which will see the motorway fully shut between junctions 5a and 7 from Friday night to Monday morning, are scheduled for one weekend in June, July, August, and September.
Details of the closures
The first closure runs from 9pm on Friday, June 26 to 5am on Monday, June 29. It will see the M42 closed northbound from Junction 5a to 7 and southbound from Junction 7 to 6 southbound. The M6 Junction 4 southbound link to the M42, heading northbound between junctions 6 and 7, will also be closed. A signed diversion route will be in place.
Subsequent closures are from 9pm on Friday, July 24 to 5am on Monday, July 27; from 9pm on Friday, August 14 to 5am on Monday, August 17; and from 9pm on Friday, September 18 to 5am on Monday, September 21.
Two additional weekend closures are planned: from Saturday, August 22 to Sunday, August 23, affecting junction 4 north and southbound, and from Saturday, October 31 to Sunday, November 1, for works at M42 Junction 7 to the M6 northbound.
HS2 twin box structure
The closures are needed to install 175 prefabricated beams, each weighing between 56 and 92 tonnes, as part of a new twin box structure spanning both carriageways of the M42. Once complete, vehicles will drive through the 300-metre-long structure while trains travel above. The beams, measuring 23 metres long, will be lifted into position using a 300-tonne crawler crane.
Agnes Usciak, HS2 Ltd’s senior project manager, said: “This is a huge moment for the project, and a clear sign of the progress we are making as we begin bridging the gaps over the region’s motorway network. This is British engineering at its best.”
Diversions and advice
M42 northbound users should leave at junction 5a to join the A4545 towards the A45 Coventry Road, then take the A45 eastbound to Stonebridge Island, the northbound A452 Chester Road, and the A446 Stonebridge Road/Lichfield Road to junction 9 to rejoin the M42. Traffic for the NEC and Resorts World can access from A45/M42 junction 6, where signed exits will be in place.
Ian Doust of National Highways said: “We have worked closely with HS2 to minimise disruption. We advise people to leave extra time for journeys and choose alternative routes if possible.”
A team of 180 engineers and specialists will work around the clock during the closures, with the motorway reopening at 5am each Monday.
