HIGHWAYS England has apologised to drivers for the pandemonium caused by the closure of the M5 between junctions 5 and 4a after ongoing roadworks over ran this morning’s 6am deadline.
An overhead gantry spanning four lanes is still currently blocking the northbound carriageway because there was not sufficient equipment to lift it last night when roadworks were taking place.
Specialist equipment is now on its way to lift the gantry so the carriage can re-open.
Closures are expected to remain in place until later today.
The northbound entry slip road at junction six is also closed.
The southbound carriageway remains open, but with a lane three closure.
Highways England operations manager, Sioux Hine said: “We can understand the frustration this has caused this morning, and it’s frustrating for us, too.
We always try and carefully plan our overnight work to avoid this kind of disruption, and we’d like to apologise for the inconvenience.
“Sometimes, things happen which no one can foresee, but we are doing all we can now to try and re-open this section of the motorway. We’d ask people to please bear with us and we’ll provide updates throughout the day.”
Road users are advised to leave plenty of extra time to travel and to consider taking alternative routes where possible.
Visit Highway England’s West Midlands Twitter feed (@HighwaysWMIDS) or www.highways.gov.uk/news/breaking-news for more information.
