Revealed: Black Country's gridlocked roads among nation's worst
The Black Country's gridlocked roads have officially been ranked as some of the worst in the country for traffic jams.
Figures from the Department for Transport (DfT) show the chronic conditions faced by drivers across the region, who tootle along at an average speed of under 20mph.
The data shows that for every mile on one of the main roads in the Black Country a car will be delayed by 71 seconds – more than 50 per cent higher than the average for the rest of the UK.
It means that anyone travelling 20 miles can expect a delay of around 24 minutes. Motorists in Staffordshire fared much better, with the average delay of 31 seconds per mile falling below the national average of 47 seconds.
Wolverhampton's roads were rated as some of the most clogged in the country, with drivers clocking an average speed of just 18mph and a 20-mile journey showing a delay of almost half an hour.
The figures for Sandwell shows that a car will be delayed by 75 seconds for each mile travelled, meaning that for a daily commute of five miles a driver needs to add around six minutes to the journey to get to work on time.
Walsall showed an average delay of 19 minutes over a 20-mile trip, with motorists in the borough averaging 21mph. In Dudley the average delay per mile was 20 seconds, as drivers trundled along at an average speed of just 20mph.
Improving travel times across the region has been one of the key targets of West Midlands mayor Andy Street, who has vowed to tackle congestion hotspots and ensure greater coordination between different transport networks.
And the region recently laid out gridlock-busting plans for a new high tech congestion management scheme, including the creation of a Regional Transport Coordination Centre to provide 'real time' information on traffic flow.
The DfT recently announced it was investing up to £10 million in Street Manager, a national programme which will pass on up-to-date information about roadworks to sat-navs and navigation apps.
It says the system will allow local authorities and utility companies to quickly notify users on road closures or delays, by updating Google Maps or Citymapper in real time.
Roads Minister Jesse Norman, said: "Roadworks can often be frustrating for motorists, especially when they cause hold-ups at busy times and delay journeys.
"We want to reduce this disruption and delay, and Street Manager is just one of a number of actions we are taking so that local authorities and utility companies can better plan and manage their roadworks.
"The data opened up by this new digital service should enable motorists to plan their journeys better, so they can avoid works and get to their destinations more easily."
