£25m plan to combat M6 junction 10 queues

A congestion-busting £25 million scheme is planned to overhaul junction 10 of the M6 to combat years of problem queues.

The plans have been revealed as part of the Darlaston Enterprise Zone and aim to speed up traffic around the main junction for Walsall and Wolverhampton.

Proposals are in the early stages but it is expected the carriageway will be widened to allow an extra lane to ease jams on the Black Country Route.

A Walsall Council Cabinet report into major transport scheme states the scheme could cost around £25 million. Work will not start until the opening up the hard shoulder of the motorway between Birmingham and West Bromwich is fully completed in 2014.

A revamp would provide a better network towards the proposed Darlaston Enterprise Zone, which will see new businesses attracted to land around the the former IMI James Bridge copperworks in Darlaston Road.

Steve Kibble, director of Willenhall-based RK Transport, said: "It would make a big difference if it clears the congestion. Sometimes it takes up to 20 minutes to get to the roundabout."