DRIVERS are facing 15 months of misery as work is carried out to repair the crumbling concrete supports which carry the M6 over Birmingham.

The Highways Agency will begin a project to strengthen the 38-year-old flyover above the A453 College Road in Perry Barr.

Drivers will face temporary and overnight closures underneath the motorway at the junction with Aldridge Road.

Lanes on the carriageway will also be narrowed and a reduced 40mph speed limit will be in place for the duration of the works to protect engineers working on the project.

A dedicated slip road for traffic turning right from College Road outside the Boar’s Head pub and heading north on to Aldridge Road will be shut for the full 15 months.

But motorists will be able to use traffic lights to turn further south along College Road.

From Monday, a small number of overnight closures of the College Road/Aldridge Road junction will be required at the start and end of the works to enable temporary changes to be made to the layout of the junction.

Highways Agency project manager, Howard Todd, said: “Working hours for the repair works are planned between 7.30am and 6pm during the week and 7.30am and 1pm on Saturdays. Some overnight diversions may be necessary.”

Repairs to the concrete will be similar to those being carried out underneath Spaghetti Junction at junction 6 of the M6 and Lancaster Circus in the city centre.

In December 2007 Highways Agency engineers propped up a large section of Spaghetti Junction after years of salt-gritting started to eat away at the pillars.