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New jobs are also projected in the coming years with 4,000 posts anticipated thanks to team work from the authority and partners.

 

The strong message on Walsall’s future comes as a plaque is put onto the Littleton Street railway bridge to commemorate work on the Ringroad and workers involved with the scheme are publicly thanked.

 

Councillor Mike Bird, Walsall Council Leader, said: “We are bucking the national trend and can today see investment pour into Walsall. That’s thanks to blood, sweat and hard toil by Walsall Council and our partners such as Walsall Regeneration Company (WRC), Walsall College, Walsall Manor Hospital and Tesco.

 

“Walsall people were very patient while the road was being built. They bore with us and it’s starting to be payback time. You only have to look around to see that.

 

”We do very much acknowledge the role played by all those who worked on the Ringroad and as things take shape it’s appropriate to thank them.”

 

Councillor Adrian Andrew, Deputy Leader and Walsall Council cabinet member for regeneration, said: “The ring road is a vital catalyst in creating a developing Walsall that our children and grandchildren will live in. It’s happening all around us.

 

“There’s around £800 million of investment in our borough projected over the next few years creating 4,000 new jobs. These are jobs associated with the new investment and buildings that are taking shape and are predicted to take shape.”

 

Councillor Tom Ansell, Walsall Council cabinet member for transport, said: “We told you that the ring road would help ease congestion and improve your journey time. It is. Studies show rush hour journey times through Walsall are down.

 

“We have made the ring road safer for pedestrians and cyclists. We have cycle lanes and quadrupled the number of crossing points to the 80 we have.”

 

As part of the £800 million investment boost, £25m has been invested by Asda in the St Matthews Quarter superstore.

 

More than £170 million has been poured into the Manor Hospital site with £65 million into the new Walsall College building with a new £55 million Tesco taking shape.

 

Work is also taking shape on the £65 million Jessops Waterfront South scheme with £10 million predicted for the hotel scheme at Waterfront North project £7 million with the mooted Walsall Housing Group (WHG) building, £23 million from the ringroad construction itself and £400 million predicted from the Gigaport scheme.

 

Walsall Council teams which worked on the Ringroad project included engineers as well as regeneration staff, planning officers as well as horticultural experts who helped plant the hundreds of new trees and thousands of shrubs along the route.

 

The road built by contractors Norwest Holst is more than a mile long running from Pleck Road at the junction with Rollingmill Street along Wolverhampton Street, Blue Lane West, Littleton Street West to the Arboretum junction.

 

Thousands of vehicles use the route every day with engineers while building the road having to overcome snow, flooding and an underground spaghetti confusion of uncharted pipes and cables carrying a range of services including electricity, water, sewerage, telephone and other cables.

 

Forward-thinking has also helped to future proof the road as much as possible with underground ducts for cables built thanks to whg to take internet connections at speeds people can only dream about to serve the digital jobs of tomorrow that have not yet been invented.

 

Forward-thinking has also helped to future proof the proposal for the Gigaport. Thanks to work undertaken by the WRC. Underground ducts have already been laid along the ring road to enable roll out of fibre cabling to deliver faster broadband. This will help attract companies to locate in Walsall and create jobs in new growth sectors such as digital media and professional services.