County councillors Terry Finn and Erica Bayliss commemorate the improvement project with a sod cutting ceremony.

Major safety boosting scheme is to start

A major  £1.8 million scheme to boost safety at a key junction between Lichfield and Burntwood is set to get underway on Monday, February 8.

Staffordshire Highways, part of Staffordshire County Council, will be upgrading the Pipehill intersection between the A5190 Lichfield Road and the A461 Walsall Road.

Local county councillors Terry Finn and Erica Bayliss commemorated the improvement project with a sod cutting ceremony on February 1.

The key crossroads has seen 18 injury accidents over the last five years, two of them serious - so Staffordshire's highways experts zoned it as a priority for action.

The massive project will see the busy Lichfield Road realigned to meet the Walsall Road 350 metres further north at a brand new roundabout, replacing the existing four way traffic light controlled junction.

Once the new junction is complete the full length of the Lichfield Road from Burntwood to the junction will be regulated to a 50mph speed limit.  

The project will also bring real benefits in tackling peak time congestion. The area is notorious for morning and evening traffic backups, with commuter traffic flowing from Burntwood, Lichfield and the A5 all converging.

The plan is designed to protect the valuable heathland wildlife habitat that surrounds the existing junction. It is classified as a grade 1 Site of Biological Interest. Landscaping will also be carried out while trees and heather will be planted in the area.

Natural drainage ditches and extensive new hedge rows will create habitats for local wildlife.

Councillor Finn said: "Safety is of paramount priority for the county council and this scheme reflects that view. Pipehill is an extremely busy junction and, with the ever increasing volume of traffic on the roads, we are keen to ensure that the possibility of accidents taking place is minimised."

Councillor Bayliss added: "This is a very complex scheme and members of the highways team have had to work through some difficult issues to get to this point. Environmental considerations have been addressed and solutions have been reached to minimise as much as possible any detrimental effects on people living nearby and to protect the woodland."

Page Last Modified: 01/02/2010 16:57:29

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