A new road connecting Birmingham Airport has opened after years of work – bringing in changes for M42 drivers. The A4545 A-road and new junction 5a of the M42 officially opened to motorists on December 18 – creating new access to the motorway and key West Midlands locations like Birmingham Airport, Birmingham Business Park and the NEC.
Work on the new A road has been ongoing since September 2021 as part of a major improvements scheme being carried out by National Highways in the area. Extensive work has taken place with the aim of “making journeys easier” and reducing heavy congestion at junction 6 of the M42 – which would mark a positive change for M42 drivers.
The A4545 dual carriageway will link junction 5a on the M42 with the Clock Interchange roundabout – providing direct access from the M42 to Birmingham Airport, Birmingham Business Park and a more direct route to the A45 to Birmingham and an alternative to the NEC. And the new route has been welcomed by Solihull villagers living in the area, who celebrated having a fresh route through the borough.
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Photos taken at the site in 2021 showed groundworks being carried out to build the new link road. A rough completion target was given of 2024 to 2025 but in the meantime, Solihull residents had reported regular disruption and heavy traffic during busy periods.
A post on December 18 on the public Marston Green Facebook page read: “Some good news! The new A4545 and Catherine de Barnes Lane between the airport and Catherine de Barnes are now back open today!
“No more having to fight past Land Rover on Damson Parkway to get to and from Solihull!” Replying on the public thread, one villager wrote: “Hampton-in-Arden can go back to being a village now and not a race course.” Another added: “Drove down it today after work….so much traffic queuing towards junction 6 and flew down the new road.”
Work taking place at the junction in 2021
(Image: National Highways)
National Highways said the 2.4km stretch has initially opened with one lane running in both directions but the dual carriageway is expected to be fully in action by the spring.
National Highways regional delivery Director, Anita Prashar, said: “Opening up the new link road and junction is an important milestone in this essential scheme which will ultimately ease the congestion issues in the area and promote economic growth.
“We wanted to make sure we opened the road ahead of the Christmas holiday as we know it will make a significant and positive difference to the journeys of visitors, local communities, and businesses. We’re making journeys easier for motorists heading to Birmingham Airport by providing direct access from the southern M42 to the airport.
“We are delighted to have reached this key milestone but appreciate that more work has to be carried out over the coming months so we are grateful to the local communities and road users for their continued patience.”