M6 to be closed for work on gantries

Disruption and closures are set to hit parts of the M6 in Staffordshire as work continues on a £22 million project.

The Highways Agency says sections from Junction 11, Shareshill, to Junction 13, Stafford South, will close.

They will do so overnight along with parts of the M6 Toll. Closures are needed while workers install new equipment to overhead gantries on the north and southbound carriageway of the M6 that will linked them to the innovative MIDAS, or motorway incident detection and automatic signalling, system.

This involves sensors in the road detecting the speed and flow of traffic to provide road users with up-to-date traffic information through a link with new overhead message signs.

The M6 will be closed overnight from 10pm to 6am between Monday and Thursday next week.

The southbound carriageway between Junction 13 and 12 will be closed from 10pm on Monday to 6am on Tuesday with diversion from junction 13 onto the A449 southbound before heading east on the A5 to rejoin the M6 at junction 12.

The southbound carriageway from Junction 12 to 11 will also be closed completely from 10pm on Tuesday to 6am on Wednesday with a diversion route from junction 12 onto the A5 down the A449 to join the M54 eastbound rejoining the M6 at junction 10A.

The northbound carriageway between Junction 11 and 12 will be closed from 10pm on Wednesday to 6am on Thursday with a diversion route from Junction 11 onto the A460 and back along the A5 to Junction 12.

The M6 Toll northbound carriageway will be closed from 10pm on Wednesday to 6am on Thursday with a diversion route from junction T8 onto the A460 heading south towards the M6 junction 11 around the roundabout and back onto the A460 northbound towards Cannock.

At the A5 roundabout, motorists should head westwards to rejoin the M6 at Junction 12.

Mark Worrallo, project manager at the Highways Agency said: "We would like to apologise for any inconvenience that these closures cause, and ask drivers to take extra care when driving through roadworks and allow extra time for their journeys."