Safety work starts on road junction
Work is under way on a £500,000 project to improve safety on one of Wolverhampton's busiest road networks, which will see left turns banned from a key junction.
Work is under way on a £500,000 project to improve safety on one of Wolverhampton's busiest road networks, which will see left turns banned from a key junction.
Drivers will be stopped from turning left from Merridale Road to Compton Road.
They will also be banned from turning from Compton Road to Tettenhall Road as part of the scheme in a bid to slash the number of accidents along the stretch.
The intersection of Chapel Ash, Tettenhall Road, Compton Road, Merridale Road and Bath Road is one of the most heavily used in the city.
Council chiefs have now made an order banning the left turns, which technically comes into force today although it will not become operational until other parts of the project have been completed.
Other improvements being made in the area include new signal-controlled crossings with push buttons for pedestrians, which are being installed on Compton Road and Merridale Road.
That project is being carried out in conjunction with an upgrade to an existing crossing on Chapel Ash.
Traffic-calming humps on Haden Hill, Larches Lane and Clarendon Street have also now been installed as part of the work.
That was in response to fears from residents that the streets could become a rat run. Wolverhampton City Council spokesman Tim Clark said today: "We have had to go through a formal legal process to bring in the order prohibiting left-hand turns and the public notice was part of that.
"This will enable us to ban left-hand turns when other aspects of the overall scheme have been completed and are in a position to do so."
He added: "The scheme itself is progressing well and will be completed during the summer.
"Traffic calming has been installed in three streets, and kerb realignment work is under way at the entrance to Bath Road.
"Paving work has taken place outside the Harley Davidson showroom and our contractors will soon be moving on to the central island to carry out improvements."
From November 2004 until November 2009 there were 20 accidents which resulted in 24 people being injured, one of whom, a pedestrian, died. Another four were seriously injured.
Residents had petitioned the council in a bid to make improvements at the intersection, which is used by more than 50,000 vehicles each day as well as hundreds of people trying to cross on foot.
