Revealed: £565k plan to reduce Merry Hill congestion
A £500,000 scheme to improve congestion around Merry Hill by upgrading traffic lights has been revealed.
An overhaul of the lights next to the popular shopping venue has been unveiled by Dudley Council bosses, in an effort to cut down on congestion.
Any problems with the ageing traffic signals can lead to massive tailbacks on the roads network around Merry Hill.
Council chiefs have successfully applied to Centro for £455,000 from its Better Bus Area Fund cash pot.
The cash-strapped authority will add £110,000 from its own coffers to complete the works, if the scheme is given the green light at a meeting on December 21.
Councillor Hilary Bills, cabinet member for environmental services, said: "It's really busy down there and those traffic lights need to be kept working at all times.
"We saw an opportunity for some funding, bid for it and got it.
"They need to be replaced just because of sheer age - the number of times they break down and need to be replaced is getting too much.]
"They're a very important set of traffic lights so we've got to maintain them as best we can.
"They were the next on the list of lights needing to be done and we're happy to be successful with our bid."
The traffic signals to be improved or upgraded include those are those at the A4036 Merry Hill - The Boulevard - Coppice Lane junction, the A4036 Merry Hill - Mount Pleasant - High St - Quarry Bank junction and the A4036 Merry Hill pedestrian crossing.
A report issued by the authority states: "The scheme will improve the efficient operation of the traffic signals for the benefit of both general traffic and buses, and in particular improve journey time reliability."
The timescale for the improvements is not yet set in stone, according to Councillor Bills.
But if the authority does decide to press ahead with the project then any work will happen in the first part of 2016.
She said: "I wouldn't have thought we would be touching them in the Christmas period, but hopefully in the New Year.
"We know what needs replacing and it should be done early next year."
The total cost of the scheme is £565,000.
Of this £455,000 will come from Centro funding, with the remaining £110,000 from the council's Integrated Transport Block allocation.
