Road tunnel is moved into place

Work to slide a new road tunnel under Tipton's Owen Street level crossing was under way today

The 6,500 ton, 190ft concrete support for the tunnel was being inched into place, as part of the £22 million scheme.

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A section of the West Coast Main Line railway between Wolverhampton and London Euston has been shut down while the work is carried out and a public viewing gallery has been set up so that people can watch what is happening.

Nicola Shelley, design co-ordinator for the scheme, who was on site today, said: "Everything is going well and running to schedule. We have to give the line back to Network Rail at 5am on Tuesday and that's all looking on target.

"We are expecting the public viewing gallery to be packed out and engineers from around the country have come to see what's happening."

The project is part of a two-year scheme to build a road tunnel under the rail line to alleviate traffic congestion that has plagued Owen Street for years. It is due to open in October.

In total 60,000 tons of soil has been removed from under the railway line, 50,000 of which has been used at Tibbington recreation ground, known locally as The Cracker for landscaping and the creation of new sports playing fields.

Three giant cranes are being used to winch the giant concrete box and push it under the line and scores of people were on site today to watch its progress. The structure is being pushed in at eight feet or 2.5 metres an hour to make sure it is completed on schedule. Work will continue overnight with around 100 people in total involved in the work over the 101 hours the railway is closed.

Project manager Steve Beech said: "It might look like it is moving slowly, but this is actually the fastest we have ever done it.

"Usually it would take the whole 12-hour shift to push it the distance we are pushing it in an hour.

"We've just got to make sure that it is completely level and centred and that we fill in and compact the land under the railway line when we are finished.

"There was a disused canal basin buried under the land which we had to uncover and fill in as part of the operation."

Until the work started the gates to stop traffic from crossing the rail line were shut 45 minutes in every hour resulting in massive congestion.

Leonard and Hilaire Pickerill, of Fairview Crescent in Kingswinford, who used to live in Waterloo Street, Tipton, were there to see work progress today. Leonard, aged 80, used to pass through the level crossing every day for 25 years on his way to work at Firth Cleveland Engineering in Tipton.

He said: "I have spent so many hours waiting at that level crossing. We all used to think that the barriers would go down when the train left Wolverhampton and we would have to sit there and wait for it.

"This should have been done years ago."

Local resident Ken Lovell, 65, from Waterloo Street East in Tipton, said: "They have been talking about getting rid of the level crossing in Tipton since the 1930s but no-one thought it would ever happen.

"It is incredible to see it, it's a real feat of engineering. Hopefully it will get rid of the congestion and it might even bring a bit more commerce into the town."

Long-distance train services are being diverted along the Grand Junction Line while works take place and a bus service will cover journeys between Wolverhampton and Birmingham.

A stretch of Alexandra Road, between Locarno Road and Watery Road, has been shut to traffic since September 2007.Report by Lucy Townsend