Approval for £16m scheme to improve junction

A multimillion-pound project to improve a notoriously congested traffic junction in Solihull has been approved by councillors.

The A45 Coventry Road, Damson Parkway and Terminal Road junction is said to be vital to traffic accessing Jaguar Land Rover and Birmingham Airport.

The West Midlands Combined Authority has agreed to release £16.4m grant funding for the scheme.

With works backed at a recent Solihull Council meeting, a report to members stated: "The scheme is considered to be vital in relieving existing levels of congestion - [the network] is one of the busiest across the borough."

"Improvement is needed to support the local economy, businesses, residents and to enable growth coming forward."

Public consultation held in 2021 showed 79% of 200 respondents either fully or partially supported the scheme.

Among the planned changes are:

• An additional straight-ahead lane on the A45 in the eastbound (towards the motorway) direction and an additional right turn lane from Coventry Road into Damson Parkway – providing a total of five traffic lanes on the approach from Birmingham.

• A new bus lane on the eastbound approach into the junction to provide buses with free flow access.

• Dualling of Damson Parkway between A45 Coventry Road and JLR Logistics Operations Centre access. This will complete the missing dual carriageway link between Damson Lane and the A45.

• Replacement of a pedestrian footbridge over the A45 with toucan standard pedestrian and cycle crossing across three arms of the junction - work designed to improve access to the current bus stops and future sprint stops.

Councillor Ken Hawkins called it "long awaited".

He said: "I have been quite critical of how long it takes to get approval for a lot of schemes from the WMCA and this is one of them."

Councillor Ben Groom asked who would pay if the scheme went above the £16.4m set aside.

He was informed by council officers: "It is the council that would have the responsibility to meet any overspend."

As such, the project was considered "high risk", but officers said they had spent a lot of time minimising and mitigating against standard risks "as best we can".

Before approving the spending and the appointment of Balfour Beatty as contractor, Groom, a cabinet member, said: "There are risks attached to it like any major scheme, there is a lot of money involved in this.

"We are not spending this money lightly."

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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