Delays expected as six months of work starts on A34 Sprint route
Around six months of delays are expected as work begins to create a new 'Sprint' bus route direct from Walsall to Birmingham city centre.
Construction along the A34 is due to start later this month, with the first work taking place between Great Barr and Birmingham city centre.
The works will see bus lanes extended, junctions upgraded and new shelters installed.
This will form part of the wider wider Sprint bus route linking the A34 with the A45 to create one continuous route from Walsall town centre to Solihull town centre and Birmingham Airport via Birmingham city centre.
The measures are designed to allow buses to bypass traffic and cut journey times. Phase one is due to be ready in time for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and will link key venues like the NEC in Solihull and Alexander Stadium in Great Barr with the city centre.
National Express will run a fleet of zero-emission buses which look like trams on the route.
Works on the A34 are due to begin on April 19.
Anne Shaw, director of Network Resilience at TfWM, said: “Improving our public transport infrastructure to make bus journeys more reliable is part of our plans to encourage more people on to public transport and help remove some traffic from our roads.
“Whilst these works could cause some delays to commuters, especially at peak times they will help improve journeys when completed.
“We will be keeping residents and businesses informed of works near their properties and ensuring disruption is kept to a minimum through monitoring from the Regional Transport Coordination Centre and working with our local authority partners and bus operators."