The landmark conveyor bridge which carried hundreds of thousands of cars across the Bristol Road at the Longbridge factory will be demolished this weekend.

The bridge, which carried car bodies from the West Works to the South Works for more than 30 years, will be dismantled as part of the £250 million redevelopment of the former MG Rover factory.

Diversions are being put in place to allow for the closure of a short section of the A38 from early Saturday until early on Monday to enable the 35-year-old conveyor bridge to be removed in sections.

Following the closure of the plant and the subsequent land deal with Nanjing Automobile earlier this year, the conveyor became redundant and its removal will allow redevelopment to begin.

The conveyor was built by British Leyland in 1971 as part of major improvements to the car factory when the Allegro was introduced.

It enabled the model's body shells to be moved from West Works across the road to the main assembly plant and paint shops on the other side.

Prior to that car bodies had been boxed and driven across the busy main road to the South Works, which is also scheduled shortly to be demolished.

The conveyor was used right up to the final day of car production in April last year.

Demolition firm DSM will use one of the largest capacity cranes in the UK to lift the 170 metre long 500-tonne conveyor bridge in sections, which will be swung from the A38 on to the former North Works site.

Dave Woolley, project manager for Halcrow Yolles, which is coordinating the regeneration programme, said: "The conveyor removal marks an exciting new beginning for Long-bridge."

John Dodds, regional director of St Modwen which owns the site and is overseeing the redevelopment with Advantage West Midlands, said: "This is a really significant moment and confirms very visibly that the redevelopment of Longbridge has started.

"Along with the £15 million that we are investing in the building of the first phase of the Technology Park and the anticipated demolition of North and West Works later this year, it shows St Modwen's commitment to creating up to 10,000 jobs and a new heart for Longbridge."

Alan Turner of Advantage West Midlands, added: "We are very pleased to see that the beginning of the regeneration of Longbridge has begun. We are proud to be working with our development partners, St Modwen, on this significant project and believe this marks the beginning of a new and exciting future for Longbridge."