Main city route to close for resurfacing ahead of long-awaited Wolverhampton Metro extension opening
A major Wolverhampton city centre route is set to close this month for resurfacing works ahead of the long-awaited opening of the Metro extension.
Pipers Row will be closed to traffic between August 14 and 18 for the work to take place, meaning all cars will be blocked and buses will be diverted around the city.
It is part of the work required to open the £50 million Metro link from St George’s down Pipers Row to Railway Plaza.
Midland Metro Alliance (MMA) said staff are currently carrying out signalling works, with the resurfacing work being the next step.
MMA said the work is necessary before the track is handed over for drivers to familiarise themselves with the route.
Services to Wolverhampton railway station will then begin, but no date has yet been given for when the extension will become operational.
During the road closure, a diversion route will be in place, with drivers using Bilston Street, St Georges Parade, Garrick Street, Market Street, Princess Street and Lichfield Street or Princes Square, Broad Street and Ring Road.
The Metro extension, which will stretch 720 metres, was meant to be completed in 2020 but has been beset by budget rises and delays.
It has seen its £35m budget balloon to around £50m.
Once the Wolverhampton extension is open to the public, services will call at two additional tram stops at Wolverhampton Station and on Pipers Row, connecting Metro with heavy rail and bus services helping to make multi-modal journeys faster and more accessible.
The project was first delayed by 18 months due to construction work at the railway station.
Metro bosses then hoped the extension would be ready for the Commonwealth Games last July but pushed back the opening date until autumn 2022.
Last October the project was again pushed back to Spring 2023, which was missed.
Midlands Metro Alliance director Peter Cushing previously blamed “complexities” of installing the systems needed to run the trams down Pipers Row and supply chain problems for the delays.
The alliance has said the final stages of testing and commissioning are a “complex process”, but there has been criticism from council bosses who warned the delays were undermining plans to make Wolverhampton a ‘destination city’.
Councillor Wendy Thompson, opposition leader on Wolverhampton Council, also said residents would be relieved to see the extension open, saying it offered convenience and would benefit businesses in the area.
