Months of misery for Wolverhampton drivers as tram line extension work continues

Midland Metro Alliance starts work to lay down the track from Wolverhampton St Georges stop to the city’s railway station on March 18.

The £33m project will see Pipers Row closed until the summer with traffic diverted along other city centre roads.

Work will take place to prepare the road for the line before the tracks come in from June. The route will be open for trams in two years.

But the city will have to put up with months of disruption during the construction of the extension line.

Motorists coming off the Bilston Island to the city centre face a diversion from Bilston Street, around Wolverhampton library and onto Garrick Street.

With Pipers Row closed, a bus-only restriction onto Market Street will be lifted.

Vehicles will then access Tower Street and Castle Street, including the NCP car park, on a one-way circular road system.

Exiting the area, vehicles will all be directed down Queen Street and Berry Street, behind the Grand Theatre, before reaching Princess Street.

Cyclists face the same diversions, while people on foot will only be stopped from walking on the pavement alongside the NCP car park.

Traffic marshals will be in place 24 hours a day. The extension will feature stops on Pipers Row and the railway station. The tram line gets to the station down Railway Drive. Henry Carver, president of Wolverhampton Business Forum, said he believed the disruption would not be too severe. But he said he was unsure over the future benefits of the extension. He said: “I don’t think the work will have a major impact, it is mostly a walking area in that part of the city, but then I won’t say there will be none.

“Ahead of seeing any statistical work on how many people will use the extension I’m unsure of the benefits.”

Alejandro Moreno, director of Midland Metro Alliance, said: “Although we appreciate that there will be some disruption to those living, working and travelling through Pipers Row during the works, we are working closely with the City of Wolverhampton Council, Wolverhampton Business Improvement District and Transport for West Midlands to minimise our impact.”

It will form part of the £150m Wolverhampton Interchange, hoped to bring in more than 1,500 jobs. As part of the project the i9 office block will be built on Railway Drive and the railway station will be revamped.

A hotel could be built in front of the station car park, which would be extended, as part of the masterplan. Bars and cafes would be opened along the Birmingham Canal, which goes alongside the railway track.

Mr Carver said: “I think the business community is quite pleased with the amount of money being spent on the city. People are feeling more positive about the city’s future, and we haven’t said that for a while.”

The Midland Metro opened in 1999 and another extension, from Wednesbury to Brierley Hill is planned to open in 2023.