Temporary crossing installed in Wednesbury to help residents dodge flood-prone underpass

It left thousands of homes without water overnight and resulted in damage to Lea Brook Methodist Church, which was forced to close for more than a year after 10 million litres of water swept through the street outside in 2018.

Speaking in November following the latest floods, Leabrook Road resident Matthew Fisher said: "It has been awful. And it is not the first time either, the water main burst in 2018. We had our power off and are still on bottled water.

"The water came up to our door, we have a shed out back which was flooded. I feel for the church, they took years to reopen after the last flood."

The water damaged the electric control panel and pump that normally keeps the underpass clear of naturally occurring groundwater and run-off from the surrounding area.

Work is expected to start on replacing the pump at the beginning of February.

On Monday (January 20), Sandwell Council finished installing a temporary crossing on Black Country New Road, near to the Parkway Roundabout, to enable pedestrians to keep clear of the underpass.

The speed limit on Black Country New Road was also reduced from 40mph to 30mph as of Monday; the lower limit will be in effect until work to replace the pump begins.

Councillor Keith Allcock, Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for environment and highways, said: “The temporary crossing means pedestrians can now cross this major route safely while we finish the work to clean up the underpass following the flooding."

The local authority said the underpass is now clear of water and a temporary pump is expected to be installed by the end of this week to prevent future flooding issues, which will remain in place until work on a permanent pump is completed.

Councillor Allcock added: “Work is continuing this week to get the temporary pump in place and we’re doing all we can to get a new permanent pump installed to ensure we have no further problems here.

“I would like to thank residents for bearing with us while the necessary work has been carried out, and we’re sorry for the inconvenience that has been caused.”