National Highways has reminded drivers that the M42 will be fully closed between junctions 9 and 10 for HS2 works for a week over the festive period.
HS2 Ltd will be carrying out the work to prepare for the movement of the Marston Box bridge next winter.
The Marston Box is the bridge that will carry the HS2 line across the motorway near Junction 9, north of Lea Marston and Curdworth in North Warwickshire. National Highways said that to ensure the safety of the workforce, the road will be fully closed from 9pm on Christmas Eve to 9pm on New Year’s Eve.
Architect's impression of the Marston Box rail bridge over the M42
The strategic roads operator issued the reminder alongside its traditional announcement that it will be ‘working round the clock’ to remove roadworks ahead of the festive getaway.
It said more than 900 miles of roadworks would be removed, leaving nearly 98% of its network roadworks-free.
National Highways said its travel-time data from the past couple of Christmases suggests that Thursday 23 December is likely to be one of the busier travel days on its network in the run up to the festive period although traffic levels are not expected to be any higher than usual.
It said the vast majority of roadworks will be removed from 6am on Tuesday 21 December until 12.01am on Tuesday 4 January.
Customer service director Melanie Clarke said: ‘We don’t want roadworks to spoil Christmas so we’re doing everything we can to make journeys as smooth as possible.
‘Our dedicated control room teams and traffic officer patrols are geared up to help those travelling over the Christmas period.
‘We know from experience that peak travel times can vary in the run up to Christmas, and so we’re encouraging drivers to check traffic conditions before heading out to help keep traffic flowing.’
