Drivers travelling along the M5 have been warned of delays as repair works on the Exe Viaduct near Exeter start tonight (Monday, January 9). Two lanes on the motorway will be closed overnight for the next five nights while work is carried out.
This comes after a monitoring system detected a fractured bridge expansion plate on the Exe viaduct, which carries the M5 over the River Exe. A half-mile section of lane one of the southbound carriageway between junctions 30 and 31 had been closed for safety reasons over the Christmas and New Year holiday period due to a bridge defect.
Specialist repair work will start on Monday night and lanes one and two will close overnight. Lane three will remain open for traffic between 8pm and 6am, with a 50mph speed restriction in place. During the day, lanes two and three will be kept open to traffic.
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National Highways has advised drivers travelling southbound on the M5 near Exeter to allow extra time for their journeys. Terry Robinson, National Highways’ engineering manager for the South West, said: “We’re reducing capacity to one lane overnight to protect the workforce carrying out repairs/
"During the day, due to the safety critical nature of the defect, we need to keep the lane one closure in place to protect the travelling public and prevent any potential vehicle damage. We’re carrying out the work overnight to minimise disruption, the repairs are programmed for five nights but we’re hoping to fully reopen all lanes as soon as it is safe to do so."
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