Work has begun on a £112M upgrade of the A46 at Walsgrave in Coventry with preparatory overnight works starting this month ahead of main construction works beginning later this year.

Earlier this year, Peter Hendy, acting for the secretary of state for transport, signed a development consent order (DCO) for the project on behalf of the Department for Transport (DfT) clearing the way for construction to begin this autumn.

National Highways said teams would carry out early works from the start of next week, Monday 13 July, to prepare the site. Activities include installing signage, clearing vegetation and building temporary site accesses. To enable these works, laybys on the A46 between the Walsgrave junction and M6 junction 2 will be closed.

The mains works, which National Highways has said should finish and open to traffic in 2028, will be carried out by contractor Octavius Infrastructure.

The Walsgrave junction currently links the A46 to the B4082 via a three‑arm priority roundabout. The approved design removes that at‑grade roundabout and creates a grade‑separated junction north of the existing site, allowing a free‑flowing A46 carriageway while maintaining local access to the B4082.

National Highways describes the A46 as a strategic east–west link across the Midlands that connects Coventry and Warwickshire to the wider motorway network and to ports such as those on the Humber. The Walsgrave upgrade is the second part of the Coventry Junctions programme: upgrades to Binley junction, the first scheme, was completed in 2022.

Main construction is due to start in September and the project is expected to open to traffic in 2028.

Overnight closures will be in place to allow preparatory works to proceed.

The A46 northbound will be closed between 8pm and 6am from 13 to 31 July 2026 and the southbound carriageway will be closed overnight on 3 and 4 August 2026.

National Highways project manager Emma Winter said: “Motorways and major A roads play a key role in keeping the UK economy moving, carrying a third of all traffic and two thirds of freight. The A46 is a major trade corridor between the South West, the Midlands and the North, which is why we are removing this bottleneck on the outskirts of Coventry.

“The new-look Walsgrave junction will reduce delays by delivering much-needed additional capacity, better connectivity and safer journeys for the drivers using the road every day.

“This scheme also forms part of our commitment to improve the A46 Trans-Midlands Trade Corridor, supporting economic growth, employment and housing development between the M5 and the Humber Ports.”

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