Specialist teams worked over the bank holiday weekend to remove the old Solihull Road bridge across the M42 as part of the £282m upgrade of Junction 6.
National Highways has published time-lapse video of the demolition.
The work saw the M42 closed but the government-owned company said it had re-opened 22 hours earlier than planned with closures removed from 7am on Sunday morning.
The demolition means work can start on the construction of slip roads for the new Junction 5a on the M42, which will be approximately 1.8km south of Junction 6.
National Highways’ programme lead, Jon Slemmonds, said: ‘This new time-lapse footage shows the methodical and complex work of removing the old Solihull Road bridge as part of our upgrade at Junction 6.
‘Given the scale of the task involved, the bridge was removed using specialist equipment.
‘We’re making good progress on the upgrade and once the work is complete, it will alleviate congestion at a well-known bottleneck on the M42.’
Dan Trathen, Skanska’s project director for the M42 Junction 6 scheme, said: 'This is a significant milestone for the project. The new Solihull Road bridge was lifted into position last autumn and is expected to open by the end of July 2023. Before this can happen the old bridge had to be demolished.
'Thanks to the team this is now complete, and we are able to build the slip roads for the new junction.'
National Highways says the scheme will act as a catalyst for future economic growth in the surrounding area, providing the extra capacity required to serve Birmingham Airport, the NEC and a new HS2 station.
Traffex takes place at the NEC from 6-8 June, alongside Parkex, the flagship annual conference and exhibition hosted by the British Parking Association.
