Pothole hell turns to highway 'heaven' at notorious Heath Hayes roundabout

The notorious Five Ways Island in Heath Hayes is now a far less daunting prospect for motorists following work to repair dozens of potholes.

Some have even described the new road service as ‘heaven’.

At one point there were more than 50 defects on the busy roundabout – and the stretches leading up to it – including the kerbs.

But most have now been vanquished thanks to a £220,000 scheme.

Staffordshire County Council has been carrying out the long-called for work this week, which is due to continue for the next two nights.

Cannock Chase District Council member Diane Todd, who represents Heath Hayes, had lobbied for the repairs when she served on the county authority.

She said: “I have been up there to see it and they are doing a good job.

“I was the county councillor who fought for it to be done.

“It is looking a lot better now the preliminary works have been done and the one side has been resurfaced.

“The idea was always to do most of it in the evenings to minimise disruption as it is a major island.”

Fellow district councillor Alan Dean, who also represents the area, added: “I was up there yesterday afternoon and the surface is brilliant.

“It was heaven. Well, it had to be better than it was before.

“We used to say the potholes were deeper than the old pit shafts at the back.

“We have suffered with it for years so the work will be a huge improvement.

“It won’t solve the traffic problems, although that is another issue really.

“The whole traffic strategy needs revamping.

“But that would have contributed to the damage in the road surface in the first place, however.”

Councillor Colin Lea, the third member for Heath Hayes, said when the work had been completed, it would have to be ‘a huge improvement’.

“It may mean a bit of inconvenience while the work is ongoing but people have just got to be a little bit patient,” he said.

The roundabout links Cannock Road, Hednesford Road, Norton Road and Wimblebury Road.

The work started on August 14 but was ramped up this week when the county council implemented overnight road closures.

The closures took place from Monday, between the hours of 7.30pm and 6am the following morning.

They are due to continue until the end of the week.

Cannock Chase MP Amanda Milling has been among those to highlight the problems over the last year and she welcomed the scheme when it was announced.

It was originally set to take place from mid-July but the council were prompted to put it back a month.

The roundabout works follow repairs to the Hill Top double island in Hednesford.

Both schemes are part of a £35million investment in road and transport schemes across the county which the council say will improve safety.