City motorists praised for patience and co-operation

Birmingham’s motorists were today praised for their “patience and co-operation†at the end of a challenging month on the city’s roads network.

January has seen the introduction of a series of temporary road measures connected to the launch of the £500 million Paradise redevelopment in the city centre as well as the start of essential repairs to the M6 Gravelly Hill interchange and to the southbound link at the M5/M6 junction.

Councillor Tahir Ali, Birmingham City Council’s cabinet member for development, transport and the economy,  said: “We knew January was going to be difficult because of the combination of: the start of important, but unavoidable road works; mid-winter weather; and the continuing heavy demands on our transport network.  Birmingham’s motorists have risen to that challenge and I thank them for their patience and co-operation.
 
“The works will continue for some time to come and we are not yet out of the cold weather.  Unfortunately, we will face more disruptions, in order to achieve economic and transport improvements.  My advice to everyone is to plan journeys carefully, around the latest traffic information.â€

This weekend, further temporary measures will be introduced to support the first phase of the Paradise programme which involves demolition of existing buildings.

From the evening of January 31, Broad Street will be closed to inbound private vehicles from Bridge Street to Paradise Circus.  Local diversion routes will be in place and signed.  The route will remain open to buses and hackney carriages only.

In addition, further measures affecting access to Summer Row are needed to maintain safe pedestrian access while work is carried out on high voltage underground power cables. 

As a result, from February 9 for a period of 12 weeks, the section of Summer Row between Lionel Street and Fleet Street will be subject to short, intermittent closures.  Local diversions will be in place and signed.

The city council’s advice to the travelling public is to

*Use public transport, walk or cycle wherever possible.  The city centre is well served by rail, bus and metro services.  More information is at www.networkwestmidlands.com

*Plan your journey.  If you travel by car, consider alternative routes or times for your journey.  If that is not possible, allow more time as your journey may be subject to delays.

More information is available at www.birmingham.gov.uk/connected

Tags: , , , ,

Top