West Bromwich drivers face four months of chaos

Work to replace decaying gas mains at Heath Lane and Vicarage Road, Hateley Heath, will be carried out in two phases - with the scheme expected to continue until the end of August.

The project was beginning today as one lane of Vicarage Road was closed off near to the junction. It means vehicles will not be able to turn into Vicarage Road from Heath Lane while the work is ongoing.

The scheme is expected to major delays at the traffic lights, which are close to the Phoenix Collegiate school and Heath Lane Hospital. The junction will be closed off altogether during three weekends, the dates of which have yet to be confirmed.

The first phase of the works is expected to last until June, with attention then turning to Heath Lane.

Bosses at National Grid, which is overseeing the work, said they did not know yet what traffic restrictions would be in place for the second phase of the scheme.

A 70-year-old gas pipe is being dug up and replaced. Experts said the work needed to be done now as the gas main was judged to be 'high risk' as it had suffered a number of leaks in recent years.

Officers at Sandwell Council said they expected the scheme to have 'significant traffic impacts' on the area. Signs were put up at the end of last week warning motorists to expect major disruption.

Hateley Heath councillor Paul Moore said he was concerned at how long it was going to take for the work to be completed.

He said: "It is a major inconvenience. It is a concern the length of time it is going to take. Hopefully it can done quicker than planned. Four months seems an awful long time to carry out, I am concerned about the inconvenience it is going to cause to people of Hateley Heath."

The work is the latest of a round of National Grid schemes across the Black Country to replace ageing gas mains.