A34 Perry Barr Highway Scheme – December 2021 update

Cllr Waseem Zaffar, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment at Birmingham City Council, said:

Birmingham: “The A34 Highway Improvements scheme at Perry Barr has been on site for 18 months and the bulk of the work is now complete in spite of pressures arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. The scheme has successfully overcome a range of hurdles, and reached some significant milestones, completing the dismantling of the flyover and laying over 3,800m2 of new block paving.  

“As with all construction projects, there have been a few extra challenges that have had to be addressed along the way, all of which have required additional time to resolve.

“One of the main ones has been the complex engineering required for the construction of the new bridge in the middle of what is currently Birchfield Island. This encountered some unexpected construction issues that had to be overcome and required additional time. 

“Overall, the scheme that is being delivered is also significantly bigger than at the outset. It now includes the Perry Barr Bus Interchange, which is being constructed by Birmingham City Council on behalf of Transport for West Midlands, as well as the new bus lane and public realm works on Aldridge Road. 

“Combining these projects into the wider A34 Highways Improvement Scheme has a number of benefits. This includes reducing the number of construction interfaces and dependencies between the various projects in the area, enabling better traffic management and improving certainty of delivery for the scheme as a whole. 

“As a result of all these factors, the new larger A34 scheme will now complete on a phased basis across spring 2022, in time for the area’s summer festivities.

“Birmingham City Council is working closely with its A34 Improvement Scheme contractor, Tarmac, to explore options for bringing forward milestone dates wherever possible. 

“We will continue to provide updates on this scheme as construction progresses.”