Work on the West Midlands Metro extension to Brierley Hill – slated to open in 2023 – is set to see further progress in the coming weeks with work on Castle Hill, Dudley due to move to the other side of the road from Monday 27th June. This comes after the completion of tracklaying on one side of the road – the first major section of rails to be have been laid on the complete extension which leaves the current Metro line at Wednesbury.
Marilyn Grazette, TfWM Programme Sponsor, commented: “It’s fantastic to be at this stage in the project where we’re able to show off the work which has been done so far including the significant progress along Castle Hill. Businesses and the town’s fantastic visitor offerings near to where we are working remain open as usual and they would love to see you this summer.”
Works got underway here in March 2020 and since then there have been utility upgrades and diversions, removal of the existing road surface, creation of concrete trackbeds, installation of ducting for system integration and a total of 350 metres of track laid. This will now all be repeated on the opposite side of the road, starting from Monday 27th June.
Elsewhere on the route two new bridges are set to be installed above Sedgley Road East and New Road following the removal of the old structures in summer 2020. Starting from Saturday 16th July for nine weeks this will lead to a localised road closure on New Road between Jonah Drive and Bramah Way.
Then from Tuesday 26th July there will be a localised road closure on a section of Sedgley Road East to allow a second new bridge deck to be installed. This work is expected to be completed by early September at which time the road to reopen to all traffic.
Project Director at the Midland Metro Alliance, Tom Maplethorpe, said: “The works to install these new structures are another exciting step forward in this project. We do, however, recognise for those in the Tipton area, the localised closures will cause some slight disruption and we aim to limit this where possible.”
The Wednesbury to Brierley Hill extension will run for 11km and include at least 16 new Metro stops.