Concrete poured in Dudley town centre as part of West Midlands Metro tram line extension

The work took more than eight hours to complete and with six loads of concrete and marks the second major milestone reached for the scheme.

It follows on from the laying of track on one half of the busy route in February, with main construction works said to be progressing well.

It comes as trams between Wolverhampton and Birmingham remain out of action until May after cracks were discovered in the trams.

Midland Metro Alliance is carrying out the work, which started in 2020, on behalf of Transport for West Midlands.

Anne Shaw, executive director of TfWM, said: "A lot of hard work has been undertaken here in Dudley to help deliver an interchange scheme that the town deserves, and it is fantastic to see the work for the Metro extension moving forward. It is all the more impressive that this activity continues to be safely delivered by the team on site with the challenging circumstances of the pandemic; with so much of the construction activity for this part of the route taking place during lockdowns.”

Balvinder Heran, deputy chief executive for Dudley Council, added: “It is good news for those living in the borough to see progress. Not only will this extension further improve public transport services for those living and working in Dudley, but it also means that residents will be able to travel more easily across the West Midlands.”

Tom Maplethorpe, MMA project director, said: "It was brilliant to celebrate a real-step forward for this project with last week’s concrete pour in Dudley and a similar pour for a structure in Sandwell. The team at both sites continue to work extremely hard to deliver this extension and I am sure that those in both Sandwell and Dudley will be excited to see the continued progress."

The route is expected to be opened up to passengers by 2024, with the extension route connecting Wednesbury to Brierley Hill.