What happened in 2013

The A38 tunnels through Birmingham are over 40 years old and required essential refurbishment works in order to bring them up to modern European safety standards.

In summer 2013, the first phase of the refurbishment took place under a six-week block closure, with night closures before and after. The works in the first phase included making structural modifications, the application of passive fire protection and upgrading of the lighting system.

The structural modifications included strengthening of central walls, filling in the arched gaps in St Chad's tunnel, constructing concrete tapers and impact barriers and installing new emergency escape openings.

A new energy-efficient LED lighting system was installed to improve safety and reduce future maintenance. The system is sensor controlled and ensures the light levels are adjusted so that motorists’ eyes can easily cope with the transition from outside to inside the tunnel.

Carriageway resurfacing and some preparatory works for the next stage of the project, including the installation of the Air Quality Monitoring system, were also completed in phase one.

This year, under a similar set of summer closures, we will be completing the upgrade to the tunnels by renewing the ventilation system, installing new security and communications systems, replacing electrical systems and refurbishing pumping stations and plant rooms. For more information on the 2014 works, click here.  

The A38 St Chad’s and Queensway tunnels through Birmingham will be completely closed to all traffic from 10pm on Friday 18 July until 6am on Monday 1 September 2014. The closure will be preceded by two weeks of overnight closures, from 10pm to 6am, and followed overnight closures (click here for details).

While the tunnels were closed in 2013, we gathered a lot of data which we hope will help you when making you travel choices this time round.  

TRAVEL ADVICE

•  Over 200,000 additional journeys were made on alternative transport during the closures in 2013. Without this change in travel behaviour, traffic would’ve been much worse. 

• People who used alternative transport generally avoided the worst delays, with some bus routes up to 7 minutes faster than normal. The best way to travel is by bus, train, tram or by cycling or walking.

• If you have to travel by car, try and make your journey at off-peak times and avoid rush hours. This saved people a lot of journey time last year. 

• If you are driving, make use of the suggested routes, which were quicker, and avoid the main affected routes. Plan your journey in advance, avoid using M6 junction 6 and the A38 (M) Aston Expressway where possible.

• Beware of using Sat Nav which may not take into account the closures.

• Have a look at our Destination Maps for key locations in the city.

Click here for more details on what happened to traffic in 2013.