£200m Black Country roadworks plan revealed
Hundreds of roads will be repaired in a Black Country borough under a major resurfacing scheme taking place over the summer.
More than £1.2 million of Government cash is being ploughed into the scheme that is seeing work take place in all of Sandwell's six towns.
The work to repair the roads comes after another harsh winter that has seen an increase in the number of potholes on routes around the borough.
Councillor Maria Crompton, cabinet member for Highways and Environment, said: "Over the last couple of winters we have had bad weather which has caused quite bad deterioration of the roads in the borough.
"We need to do the work now before more damage is done to the road in future.
"Although the work will cause short term disruption, which some people will not like, it is necessary to protect our roads for the future."
The council has warned that the work will cause minor disruptions on some roads for a day or two. Work will take place between 8am and 6pm
The areas where the most work will take place are West Bromwich and Wednesbury.
Most roads will need to be closed and parked cars moved while the work is done.
Residents will be notified by a leaflet through their door and there will signs in the street about when people may need to move their vehicles.
"This work carried out now will stop major disruption in the future and is a far cheaper option than leaving the roads to get worse and needing a full resurface," added Councillor Crompton.
The majority of the work will take place this month and into August, but more dates are yet to be announced.
The weather will need to be dry for the work to take place so dates may change depending on rain.
After the resurfacing drivers are urged to keep to speeds below 20 mph and to avoid turning, accelerating or braking sharply
In streets where stone chippings are used, a road sweeper will be sent out around two to three days later to pick up loose chippings
The council is using two techniques to resurface the damaged roads, surface dressing and micro surfacing.
The first involves spraying the road with a coating of hot liquid bitumen which is then covered with stone chippings. The chippings are then rolled into the bitumen to form a water-resistant protective layer.
The second method involves applying a cold mixture of bitumen and crushed rock to the road.
To see a full list of roads affected click here.
