Last week I met with representatives from Highways England, including the senior delivery manager for the Oldbury Viaduct programme, who talked me through the ongoing works on the M5 in detail.
During the meeting I reiterated the depth of frustration among constituents about the disruption they’re experiencing and Highways England did seem to recognise just how inconvenient these works are for those living and working nearby.
They also recognised that communications in terms of why and where the works are taking place, how long for, and the likely impact on commuting routes all need to be improved in order for the public to have confidence in them. I was informed that with this in mind, Highways England has recently created a dedicated Public Affairs Manager who is responsible for improving communication with the public about this project.
Highways England also offered to do public meetings with concerned residents, and offered visits to the works sites. They reiterated that impact assessments will be continually taking place to try and ensure disruption is kept to a minimum. But for the duration of the time the improvement works are taking place in Birmingham, there will be inevitable disruption.
Impact analysis on the works is currently being conducted and I have scheduled a further meeting for early November to discuss its findings with Highways England and any action it may take as a result.
In the meantime, I will continue liaising with the dedicated project team directly, ensuring that I am receiving regular updates about the works and can relay the concerns being raised by my constituents.