Motorists are told to expect delays on M6
Drivers were today warned to brace themselves for three weeks of disruption along the M6 as part of the £126 million scheme to open up the hard shoulder to traffic.
The link road between junction seven at Great Barr and the M5 interchange will be reduced to one lane from Monday for a quarter of a mile while work on gantries is taking place.
The one-lane system will be in force until February 25 and a number of overnight closures will also be in place.
The Highways Agency today asked drivers, especially those heading from the M5 northbound to the M6 southbound, to plan their journeys in advance as the work is expected to cause delays.
Rob Edwards, Highways Agency project manager for the scheme, said: "Using overnight closures gives us full access to the motorway and means we can remove and then install the gantries, signs and signals as quickly and efficiently as possible."
As part of the scheme, there will also be a series of weekend overnight closures between junctions five for Castle Bromwich and eight at the interchange for the next seven weekends until March 23. Signed diversion routes will be in place during the closures.
As well as opening up the hard shoulder, the managed motorways scheme also uses variable speed limits to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion.
Work started on the multi-million pound project last summer. The hard shoulder on this stretch of the motorway is due to open at busy periods early next year. A similar scheme to create a fourth lane during busy periods has already been carried out between junction 10A at Essington and junction eight.