Drivers facing a sea of cones, signs and diversions in Walsall have bombarded highways bosses with thousands of hits on its website, phone calls and emails asking when a £16m ring road scheme will come to an end and make their journeys quicker.

So far 8,000 people have been on to the website and staff have had 75 phone calls and replied to 50 emails. 

But council chiefs say that although there have been complaints about traffic problems throughout Walsall town centre many people have emailed to praise the project.

There are 10 junction improvements being made in the town stretching from Pleck Road with the junction of Rolling Mill Street to Wolverhampton Street along Littleton Street to the Arboretum roundabout. 

There are scores of cones along carriageways and traffic has been slowed down as a result. Work started last summer and is set to finish next autumn.

Councillor Anthony Harris, Walsall Council cabinet member for highways, said: “We’ve had 75 telephone calls with queries about the scheme and 50 emails which we have dealt with individually. We have also had 8,000 hits on the special pages set up on the council website. 

“We are in the middle of one of the biggest and most exciting road building schemes for a generation.

“We’re carefully managing a £16 million ring road building scheme to improve the flow of traffic through the town. This is a once-in-a-generation chance to ease congestion and will be the spring- board for millions of pounds worth of investment.”

Councillor Harris said highways chiefs also had to work around five major developments while the improvements are being made.

Keith Stone, Walsall Council assistant director for built environment, said: “According to our records we can point to around 25 complaints from people. When you take into account the size and complexity of the scheme I believe this shows how we well we have minimised its impact.”