Two sets of major roadworks enter final stages

Councillor Patrick Allen said work was progressing well on the Wetley Rocks scheme

A council has said work is progressing on a series of major roadwork schemes – with the next phases of two projects due to begin on Monday.

Resurfacing work at Wetley Rocks, in the Staffordshire Moorlands, is part of a £1.4m initiative to improve the A520 main road through the village.

At the same time, a £1.5m scheme in Tamworth has entered its final phase and is due to be completed by mid-October.

The latest part of the Wetley Rocks work should be finished by the end of September, Staffordshire County Council said.

It will see the surface course laid for the carriageway from the Texaco petrol station up to the Plough Bank junction, with a signed diversion via the A52 and A523.

The council said crews hoped to have this part of the work completed by Friday 26 September.

Work at Wetley Rocks is expected to be completed later this month

The section from the Plough Bank junction to the 30mph gateway outside of Spring Cottage will be completed at a later date, due to the discovery of telecoms cables, which were too close to the road surface and needed to be moved and buried deeper under the road, the council said.

"Works are progressing well on this important scheme in the Staffordshire Moorlands," said Patrick Allen, cabinet support member for highways.

"It's one of many schemes taking place across the county and part of wider investment to improve roads right across Staffordshire."

Crews will also resurface footpaths to improve accessibility for pedestrians and fix damaged drainage, kerbs and ironworks.

In Tamworth, resurfacing work will begin on sections of the A4091 Coleshill Street and Atherstone Street in Fazeley.

This work will also include replacing ironworks and making repairs to kerbs and footpaths where necessary.

'Unacceptable abuse'

Resurfacing Atherstone Street from the junction of Victory Terrace to the pedestrian crossing is expected to take a week and work on Coleshill Street would then begin from 22 September from the junction of New Street to number 85.

It follows on from work that was completed in July to resurface sections of the Coleshill Street Island and its approaches.

The overall scheme is expected to take about one month to complete.

Peter Mason, cabinet member for highways, said work had been delayed earlier in the year because of "unacceptable abuse directed at our highways crews during night shifts."

As a result, the authority introduced measures such as daytime-only working and equipping crews with bodycams.

"With these protections in place, I'm pleased we can now finish the job and deliver the improvements local people have been waiting for," he said.