Open the road now! M6 campaigners call for J9 block to be lifted

Junction 9 for Wednesbury has been closed since January and drivers have become increasingly frustrated the road remains shut as no work is actually being done on it.

It had been due to re-open in June but the closure was recently extended until November.

A dozen people were at Sunday's protest, calling for the road to reopen and receiving beeps of support from passing drivers.

They actually stood on the closed slip road which usually takes drivers onto the southbound side of the motorway.

Last month, Highways England revealed the slip road is being kept shut because of work it is doing elsewhere, saying it would lead to congestion on the link road to the M5 if it was open.

Bosses said it would result in Walsall being a gridlocked town.

It leaves drivers in the Black Country forced to take long detours to get onto the M6 further down, even if they have no intention of joining the M5.

As well as adding extra time to people's trips to work, protestors are concerned the traffic gridlock will lead to safety issues when schools start back in two weeks, with 2,000 pupils crossing the roads each day.

They are calling for the road to re-open immediately or for Highways England to consider opening the road during peak times to ease traffic issues.

An online petition has been signed by almost 1,000 people so far.

Michelle Dawes, who lives near the junction, said her husband's trip to work in Aston, Birmingham takes an extra 45 minutes now and it had become almost impossible to make a quick trip to nearby Morrison's.

She said: "It is just a nightmare. The roads are constantly gridlocked and there have been that many accidents lately.

"It is especially frustrating when you are standing here and can't see any work being done."

Sandwell Councillor Elaine Costigan was at Sunday's protest and said: "The people here today are really people who support safety and want to try and stop congestion.

"We would like an urgent update from the highways agency and a date when it will re-open."

Councillor Peter Hughes also attended the protest. Bosses at Highways England said the slip road was closed to prevent Walsall becoming gridlocked while they repair waterproofing around junction 8 for the M5.

Highways England spokesman Alistair Harris said: "The Junction 9 slip road is closed to prevent Walsall becoming gridlocked while we work to repair waterproofing around Rayhall Viaduct.

"We've had to close lanes on the M6 as part of this work. If the slip road stayed open, traffic would have to queue on the slip before it could merge. Because there is so much traffic here, that queue would build very quickly, extend back into Walsall, and clog up local roads.

"We are sympathetic with local people. However, we believe this approach, with a diversion, is preferable to causing severe congestion throughout Walsall and bringing the town and surrounding areas to a standstill."