Lengthy M42 closure for HS2 bridge work

A stretch of motorway will be shut for more than nine days over the Christmas period so a new bridge for the HS2 railway can be installed.

The M42 will be affected in both directions between junction nine for Sutton Coldfield and junction 10 for Tamworth and Nuneaton.

The work will allow the Marston Box bridge, which has been built next to the motorway, to be moved into place.

The closure will begin southbound from 21:00 GMT on 23 December.

The northbound carriageway will shut from 17:00 GMT on Christmas Eve, 24 December, with both sides reopening from 05:00 GMT on 3 January, Warwickshire County Council says.

The new structure will take the high-speed rail line across the motorway, north of Lea Marston and Curdworth; becoming the UK's first "box-slide" bridge over a motorway, according to HS2 Ltd.

The 12,000-tonne bridge has been constructed to the side of the M42 during the past few months and the firm says a hi-tech raft will be used to shift it into position over several days.

It will connect to Dunton Wood Embankment to the south and the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal Viaduct to the north.

A diversion route will be signposted and drivers have been warned to allow extra time for journeys in the area.

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