M42 shuts over Christmas for HS2 bridge preparation

The bridge structure, when installed in 2022, will be about 190m in length

Preparations for a new bridge as part of the HS2 rail line will close a stretch of motorway for seven days.

The M42 will be affected in both directions from junction nine for Sutton Coldfield, Lichfield and Coleshill to junction 10 for Tamworth and Nuneaton.

The Marston Box bridge, to be installed later next year, will carry the high speed rail line north of Birmingham.

The road will close from 21:00 GMT on Christmas Eve to Friday 31 December.

A diversion will be in place from Christmas Eve to 31 December

The structure will be the UK's first "box-slide" bridge over a motorway and will take the line across the motorway north of Lea Marson and Curdworth in North Warwickshire, said HS2 Ltd.

It will connect to Dunton Wood Embankment to the south and the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal Viaduct, which crosses the canal, to the north.

The 10,000 tonne structure will be built on land next to the motorway then moved into position in winter 2022, the company said.

Traffic will be diverted along the A446, A453 and A5 roads with National Highways advising drivers to prepare for some disruption.