Pipe upgrades to cause road chaos
Motorists will face four months of misery when a £250,000 scheme to replace major water pipes starts in West Bromwich next month.
The work by South Staffs Water will begin on January 5 to improve a five kilometre 'trunk' main in Hill Top.
It is expected to last for around 16 weeks.
The first phase will shut New Street and Harvills Hawthorn for five weeks. A second phase from February 16 will shut Bagnall Street until March 29.
Lellow Street will also be shut for 20 days from January 26.
Other roads that will be affected include Eagle Lane, Horseley Road, Coles Lane, Wyntor Lane and Gordon Avenue.
Mike Morris, network performance manager for South Staffs Water, said: "This work is being carried out to improve the quality and reliability of the water as it passes through a trunk main.
"While it should not disrupt individual water supplies, to ensure the safety of residents and our employees, it will be necessary to limit road access at certain times.
"We would like to apologise for any disruption this planned work may cause and thank people for their patience."
Nearby residents have been sent letters notifying them of the work and inviting them to drop by a customer information car that will be in the area this week.
Businesses along the affected roads say they are worried about the effects the planned work will have on their companies.
Tally Kumar, manager of Nar Fencing, on Harvills Hawthorn, said: "We are worried about the effects it is going to have on us.
"To get around it we will have to use Dial Lane until the works are finished.
"Our business is not so much customer facing and we deal more with trade, so we are not worried too much about that, but it will play havoc with deliveries."
Colin Brownridge, managing director of Valteck Solutions Ltd, a metal manufacturers, added: "We had not actually been told about the works even though they will affect us. We are not an overly large company and we will notice disruption. We do not deal with customers but we will see disruption in how people get in and out of work, as well as when we go out to get parts.""You can use Dial Lane but once you get to the bottom there is always traffic so it is no better.
"I suppose we will just have to live with it until the work is completed."
