A449 Stafford Road facing 18-month long round of roadworks on way

Changes will be made to the road between Junction 2 of the M54, at Fordhouses, and Springfield Lane.

Residents and businesses will be consulted on the details of the scheme before it gets under way in September.

Council bosses say they will seek to minimise disruption.

Commuters have labelled the Stafford Road a 'no-go zone' amid the ongoing scheme of roadworks which have ground the stretch to a halt.

Now those travelling to and from Wolverhampton have made the comments following the installation of the roadworks which are continuing.

The work, which is taking place along a busy section of Stafford Road heading into Wolverhampton began at 7pm on March 13 and is due to completed by the start of May.

As part of the job, the southbound route into the city is closed between its junction with Oxley Moor Road and Bushbury Lane from 7pm daily during weeknights. Motorists have had to use various diversions to avoid the area, some up to 30 minutes long.

Commuter Dean Bell, aged 34, said: "I come down from Stone to Wolverhampton every Monday morning for a meeting. So it's just been chaotic, its probably put 40 minutes at least on the journey. I now come through junction 11 rather than 12 and just cut through the back streets to avoid that and the same on the way back. I just avoid that completely. It's just stand still all the way, permanently."

Ian Chisholm, aged 73, who is the owner of Stafford Road business, The Kitchen Factory, said: "It's been horrific, its because of what's happening with the A449. It's been a no-go zone, we sometimes just can't get out of the place. I go out to measure up for people's kitchens and sometimes its like, shall I go because I may not get back. I have it two ways because I come to work that way. So where it would normally take me 15 minutes, the worst it took me was an hour and a quarter.

Iain Simpkiss and Samantha Simpkiss of The Brook Coffee House said: "It's terrible, outside the shop all last week it was bumper to bumper and it went all the way down back to the Three Tuns Island. People are parking on the estate and outside here, people are leaving their cars here all day and then going across to the factories at work time. Just because its easier to get out of work because they say it takes about half an hour sometimes just to get out of work."

During the works, southbound drivers have been advised to go via Three Tuns Lane, Elston Hall Lane, Kempthorne Avenue, Showell Circus, Third Avenue, Raynor Road, Cannock Road, Stafford Street and back to Stafford Road.

HGV drivers who need to avoid low bridges face a 17-mile detour, with guidance telling them to use the M54 out to the Cosford junction, then take the A41 through Tettenhall.

Councillor Dan Warren, who represents Bushbury North, said the scheme would be 'short-term pain for long-term gain'.

He added: "This will offer more capacity and get cars in and out of the city quicker."

Earlier this month work began in Newhampton Road West, Wolverhampton, to replace more than 1km of iron gas mains.

And significant work is on-going further south on the Stafford Road, in Wolverhampton city centre on Pipers Row, and on the Birmingham New Road near Coseley.

The aim of the latest scheme is to improve access to i54, the Wolverhampton Business Park, and the Junction 2 employment area.

It is expected to be funded by the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership 'Local Growth Fund'.

Councillor Steve Evans, Wolverhampton council's cabinet member for city environment, said: "Our highways improvements programme is making a big difference to the transport network in the city of Wolverhampton.

"The Stafford Road Area Action Plan and the emerging South Staffordshire Site Allocation Document (SAD) present significant opportunities for improved and additional employment land along the A449 corridor and to the north of the city, including the next phase of development at i54.

"It is vitally important the road network matches those ambitions and supports businesses and jobs growth in the area.

"We are working closely with businesses and residents to ensure we deliver a scheme that benefits everyone and, as always, we will aim to minimise disruption."

The main works include the reduction of the central reservation and service road verge. The scheme will also deliver more right turn lanes to improve safety and reduce delays; increased vehicle capacity at junctions; improved linkage of traffic signals; improved pedestrian crossings; enhanced cycle facilities; and traffic noise reduction.