Walsall ring road lights 'are failing'

Traffic lights on Walsall's £23 million new ring road are failing at a rate of almost once a month, transport chiefs admitted today.

The lights have broken down for at least an hour along the mile-long stretch 12 times in the last 13 months.

It comes on the day a set of lights on Littleton Street West, at the junction of Hatherton Street, stopped working during rush hour.

Contractors have also had to carry out resurfacing work already - little over a year after its completion.

Councillor Tom Ansell, Walsall Council's cabinet member for transport, said: "There are 13 sets of lights as part of the ring road scheme.

"Of those, over the past 13 months there have been lights failures of an hour or more on 12 occasions.

"Overall, this works out to be 99.21 per cent of the time operational and just 0.79 per cent faulty which is a pretty good record."

He added: "This is complex technology and failures from time to time do happen.

"These faults have not cost us a penny. They are covered by our maintenance contract.

"There has been some resurfacing work carried out at the contractor's expense."

Work on the ring road began in July 2006 and was expected to take two years, but workmen finished in May 2009, almost a year over schedule.

The project was expected to cost £16.62m, but by the time it was completed, it had spiralled to £23 million.

The work has also proved costly to businesses in the town, many of which have been forced under by the impact on trade.

The council is still locked in a row with contractors Norwest Holst over demands for extra payment on the scheme which may have to decided by an independent arbitrator.

Last year it emerged the new Arboretum junction, which replaced the old roundabout, is worsening journey times for drivers by a minute.

But overall the new road layout has been found to improve journeys and council chiefs say it will improve the town's economy in the long run