Walsall road revamp work will cost £6 million
A £6 million revamp of a key route in a bid to tackle congestion has been revealed.
The work forms the second and third phase of a project to solve traffic issues on the A461 Lichfield Road, which runs from the Walsall town centre to the borough's boundary, by widening the roads and installing new signals.
The final stage of the plans could take three years, according to Walsall Council documents.
Earlier this year the first phase of plans for the A461 were revealed, targeting two locations – at the route's junctions with the B4152 Salters Road and the A452 Chester Road.
Phase two will target the junction of A461 Mellish Road and phase three the junction of A461/Pelsall Lane/Daw End (Rushall).
Mellish Road will be given an upgraded roundabout in an effort to reduce delays, while the Rushall phase will see 'significant change' to the junction layout and upgraded traffic signal technology.
The council will applying for money from the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership's Transport Development Fund, according to papers, but will only be asking for £90,000 this year to develop the plans.
The report reads: "The A461 Lichfield Road is an arterial route, which runs in a north-easterly direction from Walsall town centre to the borough boundary.
"It carries large volumes of traffic throughout the day, which results in heavy congestion at peak times.
"The A461 Corridor Highway Improvements scheme seeks to address the issue of growing congestion and the lack of traffic capacity along this strategic route.
"The A461 Corridor Improvements will be made up of three phases of delivery.
"Phase two requires a relatively short development period with delivery planned for 2018/19. The cost of scheme implementation is estimated £1m.
"Phase three is a much larger scheme and will require development over approximately three years, with an estimated delivery year of 2019/20.
"The cost of scheme delivery is estimated at £5m."
Councillor Mike Bird said: "This work is well overdue and I am glad to see that it seems to be making real progress now with being put together. There are tailbacks every day at the Rushall junction and this leads to vehicles including HGVs using nearby villages roads to avoid them, which isn't good for anyone."
