Jaguar Land Rover factory to get quiet M54 flyover

A £36.7 million motorway flyover serving the Jaguar Land Rover engine plant in Wolverhampton will be built with a noise reducing surface, a government minister confirmed.

But roads minister Mike Penning has rejected calls to resurface the M54 motorway near Wolverhampton despite concerns over the noise.

He told South Staffordshire MP Gavin Williamson the motorway's concrete surface would not need replacing for 10 years while the tarmacadam surface connecting it with the M6 would last another four years.

However, Mr Williamson was assured that low noise surfacing would be used when the time came.

Mr Williamson called for investment in the M54 after residents in Coven Heath said their lives would be blighted by noise.

It would cost up to £1.5m a mile to put a low noise surface in.

A £36.7m flyover and revamp of junction 2 of the M54 will be built by Wolverhampton City Council and Staffordshire County Council. It will connect to the i54 business park where JLR is spending £355m on an engine plant creating 750 jobs. A six week resurfacing of the A449 Stafford Road through Coven is also planned.

Mr Penning said: "The concrete surface of the M54 is unlikely to need resurfacing for 10 years.

"If it starts to deteriorate quicker than that we will come to it quickly.

"This part of the M54 does not fit the criteria for being excessively noisy."

Related stories:

• 5,000 jobs boost at Jaguar Land Rover

• Sales joy and 600 new jobs for Jaguar Land Rover

• Jaguar Land Rover in £1.8m scheme to boost public transport

• Thumbs up for design of £355m Jaguar Land Rover factory