A45 Road Widening Works to Birmingham Airport Start

A three month programme of road works will start on the evening of Tuesday 26th August to widen the A45 (Coventry Road) westbound carriageway into Birmingham Airport.

The works, costing approximately £1m, have been commissioned and funded by the airport and will improve the traffic flow and ease congestion for passengers and users of the airport.

Bob Graham, the Airport’s Operations Director, said, “This section of road is a vital access point to the airport from the M42 and A45 so we’re making this investment now to provide the infrastructure to support our expected growth in the coming years.”

These widening works are being carried out ahead of Solihull Council’s reconstruction of the A45 South Bridge, which will start in early 2015. This is the first step to improving key strategic transport links which will bring significant economic benefits to the borough. 

From Tuesday evening, the exit slip road from the roundabout at junction 6 of the M42 onto the A45 westbound carriageway will be closed and will remain so for the duration of the scheme, which is scheduled to end on November 21st. The slip road closure is to ensure driver and construction worker safety. 

The free flow link between the M42 northbound carriageway and A45 westbound will remain open, and vehicles using this link will be unaffected by the works.

Vehicles wishing to join the A45 westbound carriageway towards the airport from the M42 J6 roundabout will be diverted onto the A45 eastbound carriageway, where they can then access the westbound carriageway at the ‘Stonebridge’ roundabout. 

Installation of traffic management measures will start at 8pm on Tuesday 26th August, with a five hour closure of the free flow link from the M42 northbound carriageway onto the A45 westbound carriageway from 10pm. The entry slip road into the airport from the A45 westbound will be closed for four hours from 11pm. During this short period, traffic will be diverted into the airport via ‘Stonebridge’ roundabout, the A452 and B4438.

Drivers are advised to leave extra time for their journeys to the airport during the works.

The works have been awarded to North Midland Construction Plc.

The A45 South Bridge works on the westbound carriage will be managed by Solihull Council, and will commence in the new year following a funding announcement by the Department for Transport earlier this week.