Misery for motorists as £250k work starts near Merry Hill
Motorists were today warned of up to 18 weeks of traffic jams as a £250,000 roadworks scheme got under way near the Merry Hill Shopping Centre.
Temporary traffic lights will be in operation while South Staffordshire Water replaces underground pipes.
It comes as the Easter getaway began in earnest, with thousands of drivers caught up in chaos on the M6 after a crash, as well as maintenance work on the trains and tram network.
The work in Brierley Hill will result in the five-week closure of part of Deeley Street and a lane closure on the main dual carriageway Thorns Road for two weeks.
But South Staffordshire Water today said the works were key to securing the water supply to homes and businesses in the area.
One lane will be closed in Thorns Road between Acres Road and Mount Pleasant from today. There will be no entry into Acres Road and Thornhill Road from Thorns Road for around the next fortnight.
Deeley Street, near the Corn Exchange pub, will be partially closed for about five weeks from May 13 from the junction with Amblecote Road.
Temporary traffic lights will be in use in Amblecote Road from May 13 until the beginning of August. Information about the plans will be on show at the car park of the Corn Exchange pub, in Amblecote Road, until tomorrow from 9am to 4pm.
South Staffordshire Council acting managing director Keith Marshall said: We would like to apologise for any disruption the work will cause. However, these £250,000 improvement works are necessary and will secure the water supply in this area for many years to come."
Yesterday, motorists hoping to get away early for the Easter break were frustrated when a collision on the M6 in Staffordshire set back their travel plans by more than an hour. The hold-up also caused chaos in Stafford town centre and the surrounding roads. The accident between a car and an articulated lorry happened on the northbound carriageway at lunchtime yesterday. One lane was shut between Junction 14 for Stone and Junction 15 for Stoke-on-Trent just before noon for almost two and a half hours but problems persisted all afternoon.
The Midland Metro closes at midnight tonight for more than two weeks as major engineering work takes place. The last tram arrives in Wolverhampton at 12.05am and the last one back to Birmingham leaves at 11.30pm, while the last one to Wednesbury leaves at 37 minutes past midnight.
Meanwhile no trains are running between Wolverhampton and Birmingham until Tuesday, due to engineering works.
