Skip to main content

Funding boost for West Midlands transport links

The UK Department for Transport has agreed to fund a new bridge which will improve links to three of the West Midlands' economic powerhouses, Baroness Kramer has announced. Building work on the new A45 South Bridge in Solihull can start after the government agreed to provide US$13.8 million in funding towards the full project cost of US$20 million. The new bridge will significantly improve a transport link that carries 50,000 vehicles a day and will directly serve Birmingham International Airport, the
August 19, 2014 Read time: 2 mins

The UK 1837 Department for Transport has agreed to fund a new bridge which will improve links to three of the West Midlands' economic powerhouses, Baroness Kramer has announced.

Building work on the new A45 South Bridge in Solihull can start after the government agreed to provide US$13.8 million in funding towards the full project cost of US$20 million.

The new bridge will significantly improve a transport link that carries 50,000 vehicles a day and will directly serve Birmingham International Airport, the National Exhibition Centre, 3883 Jaguar Land Rover and other businesses which generate over US$4 per year and support over 80,000 jobs.

Baroness Kramer said: “The A45 serves important sites including Birmingham International Airport, the NEC, and employers such as Jaguar Land Rover. This new bridge will reduce congestion and improve safety, and include new pedestrian and cyclist facilities.

The US$13.8 million the government is putting into this project is part of our wider economic plan of investment in our local and national infrastructure to help drive economic growth.”

The new bridge will replace the existing 150 year old structure carrying the westbound carriageway of the A45 over the West Coast Main Line. It will create an extra westbound running lane and an improved access slip road to Birmingham International Airport. A temporary bridge will be created during the work, allowing the route to remain open throughout.

The main works are due to start in January 2015 with completion in August 2016.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Open road tolling: safer with less congestion
    January 30, 2012
    Michael J. Davis of PBS&J looks at the positive effect that open road tolling can have on safety
  • Jaguar to deploy EVs to improve Heathrow’s air quality
    May 10, 2018
    Auto manufacturer Jaguar will make 50 of its fully-electric I-Pace vehicles available to passengers travelling to and from London’s Heathrow airport this summer. The agreement, which is part of Heathrow’s commitment to improving air quality around the airport, includes travel services company WeKnowGroup.
  • GridMatrix goes back to the future in New York City
    September 25, 2023
    Legacy traffic management infrastructure doesn’t have to be a marker of the past: software upgrades can bring it into the present in a cost-effective and timely way, says Gordon Feller
  • Taking tolling towards new opportunities
    May 18, 2016
    Vinci’s André Broto presented his views on how the tolling industry could play an important role in helping authorities ease urban congestion, to delegates at the IBTTA conference. As director of foresight and strategy at Vinci Autoroutes, France, André Broto has been spending some time considering the future of tolling in his own country and worldwide. He presented his thoughts, which include a very different angle of the causes of, and solutions to, congestion at the IBTTA’s (International Bridge, Tunnel