Traffic chaos after fallen tree blocks Wolverhampton road
[gallery] A tree fell on to a busy commuter route, causing rush-hour traffic chaos today.
The tree fell on A41 at The Rock, in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton, at 5am and was still blocking the carriageway as drivers started their morning commute at around 8.30am.
The road was closed between Stockwell Road and Old Hill, forcing rush hour traffic to divert through Tettenhall.
Wolverhampton City Council said that the road had reopened at around 9.45am.
Council chiefs have had to remove several trees from that stretch of road in recent years which have been deemed unsafe.
They put this latest fall down to the recent high winds.
Richard Johnson, an arborical contractor working on behalf of the council, said there were a number of contributing factors to the tree falling.
"There was one knocked over here two years ago and at that time the council took out trees which weren't safe," he said.
"There are probably a number of contributing factors which had led to it falling down
"What with the high winds and the saturated ground that we've had over the past few weeks the tree's probably just given up the ghost and fallen down.
"There'll be probably quite a few trees that will appear to fall down for no reason, but it's because they've weakened over time."
The road was still closed at 8.30am at the tree's large root was still stuck to a ledge on the side of the road.
The tree itself had been removed but Mr Johnson said the root was potentially dangerous and would have to be taken out as well.
Cars were being forced to turn round where the road was blocked.
It comes as strong winds are forecast across the Midlands.
Gusts of up to 35mph are predicted next Monday, although the weekend is expected to remain dry with temperatures of up to 6C (42F).
