Millions of motorists had their worst fears confirmed today as highways experts revealed details of major resurfacing work on two stretches of the M6 and the A38M Aston Expressway.
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They revealed that D-day, when most of the work begins, will be June 7 and urged drivers: "Start planning alternative routes now". The work is set to cause motoring hell for drivers in Birmingham because all three sets of of repairs will clash in July, August and September. But experts defended the decision, saying if the repairs had been staggered it would take 11 months to complete, as opposed to the five months they envisage. Today they announced a set of traffic jam-busting measures, but Highways Agency route manager Paul Cockell admitted: "There will be disruption. "But it will be nothing like the disruption we could expect if this vital work is not done. "We have had 20 potholes on these parts of the M6 since November. It is an epidemic and we need to take action before next winter." His call for motorists to plan their routes well in advance was backed by Insp Paul Andrews of the Central Motorway Police Group. He said: "There has never been so much planning and co-operation gone into roadworks and I hope that this is reflected in individual motorists planning their own journeys." The work will affect 46 miles of motorway for up to five months. The Highways Agency today announced an information campaign with one million leaflets being printed and a one minute TV-style commercial being produced to warn people to steer clear of the roadworks. This will be shown at motorway service stations, major ports, airports and Birmingham destinations such as the Bullring and NEC. Some commercials will be in French and German in a bid to help tourists. Engineers also pledged there will be no other council or utility road-works on key routes in and around the city for the first nine weeks form June 7. The two stretches of the M6 which are affected are where large numbers of queuing vehicles each day have gradually broken down the road surface. Mr Cockell stressed that two lanes will be running each way on all the affected roads throughout the period, but warned delays could be severe if, for example, a lorry broke down on the contraflow sections. Birmingham City Council also announced a new park and ride scheme from Star City, near Spaghetti Junction, into the city centre. They hope to persuade motorists to leave their cars in favour of buses as the work is carried out. Bosses' fury at closures Birmingham shopping bosses today said they were furious because they were not consulted over the Aston Expressway closures - despite it coinciding with the start of the summer sales. When retail chiefs were presented with the road closure plans, they realised it would clash with the most economically important time in the shopping calendar. Leading retailers from Birmingham's biggest stores such as House of Fraser and the Bullring met with the council to voice their concerns last week. They feared the prospect of total city gridlock would put shoppers off, particularly those who travel from outside the are. That could mean a serious financial loss - potentially running to thousands of pounds, they said. General Manager of Bullring Tim Walley said: "We were not consulted at all. We were presented with the plans and told this was it. "There was certainly a lack of foresight at some level in the planning department as they did not think about the impact on the retail providers in the city. "We were told the roadworks would start at the beginning of July, but we were concerned as the first week in July is historically the start of the summer sales and the schools have not yet broken up." Some 27 million people have visited the city since the opening of the Bullring and Mr Walley is particularly concerned about deterring visitors who travel from further afield. | 
