First look at M42 link road aiming to ease traffic to Birmingham Airport and the NEC

ITV Central reporter Ravneet Nandra was the first reporter to step foot on what will soon be the A4545.

Work on the new M42 link road near Solihull is nearly at its half-way point as part of a huge multi-million pound upgrade.

The project aims to improve congestion around junction six of the motorway, linking it with the A45, aiming to avoid bottlenecks and saving commuters half an hour on their journey times.

It means visiting places like the NEC, Resorts World and Birmingham Airport will be much easier.

Work started in Spring 2020 and hopes to be completed by Spring 2025.

This part of the link road is hoped to be completed by the end of next year.

Anita Prashar, programme delivery lead at National Highways says it will allow road users to connect to other roads much quicker.

"It's needed because there is a lot of congestion and capacity issues at junction six, so by building this link road, it helps to relieve a lot of pressure there."

The area of construction will include a roundabout, two slip roads and two new bridges over the M42.

The key facts:

Some of the trees in the ancient woodland near the area have been moved to other areas to keep as much biodiversity as possible.

As the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham is under a month away, those behind the project say they will have to lift some of the work temporarily and put in traffic management for safety.