M6 junction 13 to junction 15 smart motorway

Latest updates

• 25 May 2023

  M6 J15 to J14 southbound lane closures

  We’ll be carrying out some carriageway strengthening work on the M6 southbound approximately 5 miles before junction 14, from 9pm on Friday 9 June until 6am on Monday 12 June 2023.

  We will need to put in place some lane closures while this work is carried out to ensure the safety of our workforce and other road users.

  Upcoming lane closures

  Date and time of closure	Closure details
  Friday 9 June 9pm to 6am	Traffic will be reduced to one lane overnight while we put in place traffic management measures.
  6am on Saturday 10 June until 9pm on Sunday 11 June	Traffic will be reduced to two lanes while we carry out the resurfacing work.
  Sunday 11 June 9pm to 6am	Traffic will be reduced to one lane overnight while we remove our roadworks.

  All lanes are expected to reopen by 6am on Monday 12 June 2023. Please note however that these closures are subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances or poor weather conditions.

  We’re sorry for the disruption this may cause to your journey. Please check this webpage and our Twitter feed (@HighwaysWMIDS) before travelling for the latest information.

  Other work in the area

  In addition to the work listed above, there is also ongoing barrier replacement and resurfacing work happening on the M6 between junctions 15 and 16 until 22 June 2023. You can find out more about this work at: https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/west-midlands/west-midlands-maintenance-schemes/.

• 18 April 2023

  Overnight closures during week commencing 24 April

  We’ll be carrying out some maintenance work on a small section of lighting along the M6 between junctions 13 and 14 next week.

  So this work can be completed safely, we’ll be closing the slip roads across three nights. A clearly signed diversion route will be in place during these closures. Please see the table below for more information.

  Upcoming road closures

  To keep disruption to a minimum, we’ll be completing this work overnight between 9pm and 6am on the following dates:

  Date of closure	Road closure	Diversion route
  Tuesday 25 April	M6 junction 13 northbound exit and entry slip roads	To exit the motorway at junction 13, motorists are to head north to junction 14, exit then return. To enter the motorway at junction 13 motorists are to head south to junction 12, exit and then return.
  Wednesday 26 April	M6 junction 14 northbound exit and entry slip roads	To exit the motorway at junction 14, motorists are to head north to junction 15, exit then return. To enter the motorway at junction 14 motorists are to head south to junction 13, exit and then return.
  Thursday 27 April	M6 junction 14 southbound exit and entry slip roads	To exit the motorway at junction 14, motorists are to head south to junction 13, exit then return. To enter the motorway at junction 14 motorists are to head north to junction 15, exit and then return

  We’re sorry for the disruption these closures may cause to your journey and encourage drivers to plan ahead and allow extra time when travelling.

  Please note that all closures are subject to change at short notice due to unforeseen circumstances or poor weather conditions. Please check this webpage and our Twitter feed (@HighwaysWMIDS) for the latest information before you travel.

  Other work in the area

  In addition to the work listed above, there is also ongoing barrier replacement and resurfacing work happening on the M6 between junctions 15 and 16 until 22 June 2023. You can find out more about this work on our West Midlands Maintenance Schemes webpage.

• 24 March 2023

  Upcoming slip road closures in April 2023

  We’ll be carrying out some maintenance work on vegetation and trees along the M6 between junctions 13 and 14.

  So this work can be completed safely, we’ll be closing the slip roads across three nights in April. A clearly signed diversion route will be in place during these closures. Please see the table below for more information.

  Upcoming road closures

  To keep disruption to a minimum, we’ll be completing this work overnight between 9pm and 6am on the following dates:

  Date of closure	Road closure	Direction	Diversion route
  Monday 3 April	M6 J13 northbound exit and entry slip roads	Northbound	To exit the motorway at junction 13, motorists are to head north to junction 14, exit then return. To enter the motorway at junction 13 motorists are to head south to junction 12, exit and then return.
  Tuesday 4 April	M6 junction 14 northbound exit and entry slip roads	Northbound	To exit the motorway at junction 14, motorists are to head north to junction 15, exit then return. To enter the motorway at junction 14 motorists are to head south to junction 13, exit and then return.
  Wednesday 12 April	M6 junction 13 southbound exit slip road	Southbound	To exit the motorway at junction 13, motorists are to head south to junction 12, exit then return.

  We’re sorry for the disruption these closures may cause to your journey and encourage drivers to plan ahead and allow extra time when travelling.

  Please note that all closures are subject to change at short notice due to unforeseen circumstances or poor weather conditions. Please check this webpage and our Twitter feed (@HighwaysWMIDS) for the latest information before you travel.

  Other work in the area

  In addition to the work listed above, there is also ongoing barrier replacement and resurfacing work happening on the M6 between junctions 15 and 16 until 22 June 2023.

  You can find out more about this work at: https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/west-midlands/west-midlands-maintenance-schemes/ 

• 20 March 2023

  M6 J15 southbound - Tuesday 21 March work postponement

  Due to adverse weather forecast overnight on Tuesday 21 March, we're postponing our scheduled routine maintenance work on the M6 junction 15 southbound main carriageway, between the exit and entry slip roads. We'll provide further information once a new date for this work is confirmed.

  Our work tonight (Monday 20 March) on the southbound entry slip road at junction 15 will still be going ahead as outlined below.

   

  Time and date of closure	Road closure	Diversion route
  From 9pm on Monday 20 March until 6am on Tuesday 21 March	M6 J15 southbound entry slip road	Traffic will be diverted. To enter the M6 motorway at junction 15, motorists will be diverted north to junction 16, exit the motorway and then return southbound.

   

  We’re sorry for the disruption this may cause to your journey. Please check this webpage and our Twitter account before travelling for the latest information.

• 11 August 2022

  Upgraded motorway now open

  Today we lifted the final restriction on a major motorway upgrade to a 17 mile stretch of the M6 between junction 13 at Stafford and junction 15 near Newcastle under Lyme and Stoke on Trent. This means you can now drive at the national speed limit along this route.

  If you’ve been using the road recently, you’ll know that a new fourth lane was opened earlier this year. Drivers were kept at a lower maximum speed limit of 60mph while we calibrated the technology which detects stopped vehicles. Our testing shows the system is performing satisfactorily so we have increased the maximum speed to the national speed limit of 70mph along the stretch which carries on average 127,000 vehicles a day.

  We’d like to say thank you to everyone for their co-operation and understanding while this work was carried out.

  All motorways, with or without a hard shoulder, are designed and operated with drivers in mind, to be easy and straightforward to drive on. On motorways where the hard shoulder has been converted to a traffic lane, there’s a whole system of inter-related features, working together to help keep traffic moving safely. They include:

  • variable speed limits to help keep traffic moving, reducing frustrating stop-start traffic and making journeys quicker
  • clearly signed and orange-coloured emergency areas set back from the road and with telephones linking directly to our control rooms
  • detection systems to monitor traffic for changes in flows and speeds 
  • CCTV cameras that our operators are able to move and zoom to monitor and manage congestion and incidents, where notified. The system has the ability to see 100% of the carriageway
  • signs and signals to provide better information, and that can alert drivers to hazards ahead and display Red X signals to close lanes to other traffic when a stopped vehicle is identified
  • enforcement cameras to deter the minority who break speed limits and ignore Red X signals

  To further enhance safety, on all lane running smart motorways we are continuing to roll out technology which will allow us to detect stopped vehicles. The stopped vehicle detection (SVD) system automatically identifies stopped vehicles and provides an alert to our control rooms. Our operators can then close lanes with a Red X signal, display speed limits and deploy traffic officers.

  The system of inter-related features is all overseen and joined up by our dedicated National Highways teams, both in control rooms and on road, who are here to help 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

  In taking forward the Transport Committee’s recommendations, £390m has been allocated to design and build more than 150 additional emergency areas during the second Road Investment Strategy, on all lane running motorways in operation and construction. A decision on whether to retrofit across the remainder of all lane running smart motorways will be considered as part of the formulation of the third Road Investment Strategy, based on evidence of safety benefits.

  The M6 J13-15 is the first smart motorway upgrade to open with additional emergency areas – five in addition to the originally planned 21 – to give drivers more places to stop in an emergency. Drivers will be able to use one of 26 emergency areas if they need to stop in an emergency, with a place to stop or leave the motorway every 0.99 miles on average.

  Driving on motorways

  If you’d like to know more about the main features of smart motorways, advice and guidance on safer driving, and what to do in an emergency, visit our new ‘Driving on motorways’ hub.

  What’s still to be done

  We’ll be continuing with some final activities, information about any traffic management will be available on this webpage.