Another Cannock road to close as designer outlet work continues
A stretch of a main road into Cannock will be closed for more than six weeks as the latest phase of work on the designer outlet development begins.
Drivers will face a two-mile diversion when 350 metres of the A5190 Lichfield Road is closed for Staffordshire County Council work from Wednesday July 17 until September 2.
Lichfield Road, to the south of the Mill Green development, will be shut between the A460 Eastern Way at the Biffa landfill roundabout and the Devon Road junction by Asda.
The work is the latest part of a long-term roadworks scheme linked to the building of the £160 million McArthurGlen Designer Outlet West Midlands.
McArthurGlen has committed £15m to the roadworks scheme at Churchbridge and the A460 ahead of the planned opening of the outlet village in 2020.
Latest disruption
So far drivers have faced eight months of disruption since work started in October last year, with various road closures and diversions.
Most recently Eastern Way was shut in both directions between the Hayes Way roundabout and Lichfield Road roundabout for gas service works.
The latest phase will see drainage installed at the site, a new gas main fitted and an existing main diverted, with 350 metres of Lichfield Road to the south of the site shut as a result.
During the work, drivers will be diverted two miles around Mill Green along the A460 Eastern Way and A4601 Old Hednesford Road/Hednesford Road.
Hayes Way will remain closed at its junction with the A460 throughout the work.
School holiday work
Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport Helen Fisher said: “The next phase of works involve essential utility and drainage installation for the site and unfortunately it is necessary to put a full closure of this section of the Lichfield Road in place.
“The team has made every effort to carry out this phase over the school holiday period as it tends to be quieter on the roads.
"We would again like to thanks people for their patience while these works take place.
“The McArthurGlen Designer Outlet West Midlands in Cannock is a hugely important development for Staffordshire and the wider region.
"It will create jobs and bring visitors into Cannock, boosting the local economy. Before this happens, the infrastructure needs to be in place and we are making every effort to get works completed as soon as possible.”
Cannock Chase Council granted planning approval for a designer outlet at Mill Green in September 2016 and construction began last summer.
Developers claim the retail hub will create around 1,000 jobs when it opens in 2020.
The work being carried out as part of the "road improvements" scheme include:
Access and improvements on the A460 Eastern Way, Churchbridge interchange and Orbital Way,
Widening the A460 Eastern Way to a dual carriageway and creating slip roads to the designer outlet
Creating a new underpass and access to the site from the A460, new footpaths and cycle ways
Widening both the eastern and western A460 legs at the Churchbridge junction to provide two lanes in both directions
Widening Orbital Way on the eastbound side, improving the Lodge Lane and Churchbridge roundabouts and installing new toucan crossings on Eastern Way
