Reminder: Major Section of Birmingham New Road closed this weekend for Metro work

A small section of the A4123 Birmingham New Road, by the former Hanson's Ale Bridge, between Burnt Tree and Tipton Road junction, will be closed to vehicles to allow the safe installation of the supporting beams for the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill Metro extension – the road will be closed from 10pm today until 4am on Monday.

The Wolverhampton bound lanes will be closed, while one lane will remain open for traffic heading towards Birmingham.

The 11km extension will branch off the current Metro line, just east of the Wednesbury Great Western Street Metro stop, before heading through Tipton and Dudley on its way to Brierley Hill.

The extension – which is being delivered in two phases – will see 14 new tram stops along the route, with the first phase towards Dudley town centre seeing the installation of nine stops from Wednesbury to Flood Street. The second phase will see the route further extended to Brierley Hill, with five new stops between there and Flood Street.

Midlands Metro Alliance (MMA) said that phased approach is due to a combination of factors, including a rise in construction and energy costs at the same time as a reduction in the farebox income as a result of the Covid pandemic. Farebox revenue is the money collected from fare paying passengers either in the form of cash or pass sales revenue, which saw a significant hit during the pandemic when travel was limited.

To facilitate the works, a diversion route for vehicles will be in place via Birmingham Road, while pedestrian access will be maintained at all times with designated crossing points in place.

All local attractions and businesses remain open as usual for the duration of the works.

Investigations are taking place to look into the possibility of sections of the route being operated using batteries rather than traditional overhead wires. MMA says an additional Metro depot will be needed to accommodate the extended fleet of trams that will run services on all of the planned extensions.

The new route is said to bring a host of benefits to the area, including:

• Attracting investment and regeneration to Sandwell and Dudley, and in phase two, Brierley Hill

• The creation of a link from this part of the Black Country to HS2 and everywhere in-between which will 'support economic growth' by linking jobs and people

• Making other public transport links more accessible across the Black Country as a whole, reducing journey times, and improving air quality and reducing noise