Motorists faced traffic gridlock on Thursday morning as a massive roadworks scheme kicked in on key routes in Birmingham.

Work is being carried out to resurface the A38(M) Aston Expressway as part of £4.7 million improvement drive.

Thursday marked the first day of major road and junction closures linked to the scheme, which is focused on Spaghetti Junction and surrounding slip roads.

There is a major roadworks scheme on the Aston Expressway. File picture.
There is a major roadworks scheme on the Aston Expressway. File picture.

The Gravelly Hill and Tyburn Road approaches to the Expressway were closed.

The city-bound Expressway lanes were also due be shut between 8pm and 6am, as they have been all week.

But the closures appeared to have taken thousands of morning rush-hour drivers by surprise.

There was gridlock on the M6 north and southbound at Junction 6 and surrounding roads including Fort Parkway.

Justine Bayliss tweeted: “Absolute gridlock this morning due to Aston Expressway roadworks.

“Need a plan B. Commuters still have to get to work on time.”

Derek McMullen tweeted: “Delays this morning due to closed Aston Expressway NOT ACCEPTABLE. Please review and sort it out. I still need to get to work.”

National Express West Midlands said there were bus diversions due to the problems.

The company tweeted: “Due to a road closure at Aston Expressway entry service service X3,X4,X5,X14 are diverting via Lichfield Rd. Delays of up to 25min.”

Highways England urged drivers to plan ahead, allow more time for journeys and consider alternative modes of transport including public transport whenever possible.