£1.32m plan for junction

A £1.32 million road improvement scheme has been earmarked for an accident blackspot between Lichfield and Burntwood.

Construction on the improvement programme at Pipehill crossroads could begin next year.

The work on the site, at the existing A5190/A461 junction, will take around six months to complete.

Staffordshire County Council has acknowledged that Pipehill crossroads already has a capacity problem, and traffic congestion is set to get worse in time as traffic volumes increase.

There is also a significant road accident problem at the junction, in particular for vehicles turning right from Walsall Road into Lichfield Road.

The county council is now in consultation with landowners along the route, after reaching an agreement on its preferred option - the re-alignment of the A5190 Lichfield Road in a northerly direction.

And the original section of the A5190 Lichfield Road between the re-alignment and the crossroads would be closed to through traffic, resulting in the existing crossroads becoming a three-armed junction.

A county council spokesman said: "It is envisaged work could begin next year with a construction period of approximately six months."