Delays loom as Merry Hill roadworks start
A new batch of roadworks near the Merry Hill shopping centre was due to begin today - potentially causing chaos for shoppers hoping to get to the complex.
Resurfacing work at the junction of the A4036 Merry Hill and The Boulevard was due to start on Monday as part of a wider project to ease congestion around the busy centre.
The roadworks begin as a £500,000 scheme to improve congestion around Merry Hill by upgrading traffic lights was already under way.
Work started last month in High Street and Coppice Lane, Quarry Bank.
Highways chiefs in Dudley revealed an overhaul of the lights next to the shopping complex last year.
Problems with the ageing traffic signals can lead to massive tailbacks on the network around Merry Hill.
Council chiefs successfully applied to Centro for £455,000 from its Better Bus Area Fund cash pot and will add £110,000 from the council's own coffers.
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."
When the scheme was unveiled in December, 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."
