Black Country Route
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Black Country Route is a road which exists in the West Midlands of England.
The plans for the new road were first drawn up in 1962 to ease congestion in the Black Country towns of Bilston and Willenhall, as well as giving the residents of Dudley, Coseley and Sedgley a more direct link with the M6 Motorway. The route was due for completion by 1976, but problems with funding saw the plans shelved. Originally the route was planned to be a motorway.
However, the Black Country Route project was revived in the early 1980s, with congestion in the surrounding area gradually worsening. The first phase - between the Birmingham New Road and Bilston town centre - was opened in 1986, passing over land previously occupied by a giant steelworks. The new road opened up previously inaccessible land for commercial use, and B&Q soon opened a superstore on the route.
The second phase of the road was completed in 1991, cutting through Bilston town centre and linking up with the A41.
Completion of the Black Country Route was finally completed in the summer of 1995 when the dual carriageway between Bilston town centre and junction 10 of the M6 was opened. Its completion coincided with the completion of another substantial road project - the Black Country New Road - which linked Bilston with West Bromwich.
