Midland road scheme resurrected five years after being ditched by Department of Transport

Nov 24 2009 by Paul Dale, Birmingham Mail

A £16 million plan to cut congestion along one of Birmingham’s busiest commuter routes has been given a new lease of life.

Birmingham City Council is to resurrect a scheme to widen and improve Dudley Road five years after the project was dropped.

If the Department for Transport agrees, the road will be upgraded to dual carriageway status between Ladywood Middleway and Winson Green Road. The work will put paid to lengthy queues during morning and evening rush hours.

As well as helping commuter traffic to flow more quickly an improved Dudley Road will also open access to Icknield Port Loop, where the council plans a multi-million housing and leisure development.

Council cabinet members agreed to spend £238,000 on preparing a business case for Dudley Road which will form the central part of a bid for government funding.

Councillor Len Gregory (Con Billesley), transportation cabinet member, stressed there was still a long way to go before work could start: “Nothing is set in stone yet as we have to work up a full business case. But we do have a lot of problems with this road and we are determined to get something done about it.”

A similar plan was dropped in 2004 by the Department for Transport because it did not fit in with regional priorities.