City road still shut a year on amid 'mayhem'

A year after a major Birmingham city centre road was closed over safety fears at a neighbouring tower block, drivers say the disruption is still causing "mayhem".

The Suffolk Street slip road, from Navigation Street leading to the A38 Suffolk Street Queensway, has been shut since 8 October 2025 while work continues on the Orion Building's facade.

The closure followed concerns over about 80 breeze blocks on the building's eighth floor. Centrick, which manages Orion, says progress has been made and the road will reopen when it is safe to do so.

But for delivery driver Shaun, the closure is still causing "mayhem" 12 months on.

"You're having to divert around the city then try to find your way back in with all the traffic build up," he said.

"It massively adds time to my day, there's roadworks and closures everywhere, you just have to try and get on with it," he said.

The disruption is also hitting some businesses financially.

Delivery driver Gags Singh said his company was regularly being charged when traffic delays caused drivers to miss delivery slots.

"Our deliveries are timed, so miss out on the slot and then we get charged, it's having a big impact," he said.

Singh added he was regularly caught in traffic backed up on Hill Street and had started trying to avoid city centre routes in favour of residential deliveries.

"It's really frustrating," he said.

Taxi driver Shabbir Walli said the closure continued to cause "a lot of problems" for motorists.

"We lose income because half of the time we're stuck in the traffic and the customers are complaining because the metre ticks up.

"It's really disappointing ... the city is not the same as it used to be," he said.

In a statement, Centrick said it recognised the inconvenience the closure was causing businesses, residents and visitors to the city.

However, they said the road needed to remain closed while remediation work continued.

"Significant work has taken place to progress the remediation, and all parties remain committed to moving forward as quickly as possible and enabling the road to reopen as soon as it is safe to do so," a spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for Birmingham City Council said they remained in regular contact with Centrick and understood progress had been made.

"We will continue to work with Centrick and its contractors to support the reopening of the carriageway as soon as it is reasonable and safe to do so," they added.

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