WORKS to create dedicated bus lanes along the A45 from Birmingham Airport have been completed.
The £88million project, developed and delivered by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), has also seen junction upgrades, 76 new bus shelters along the from Walsall to Birmingham city centre along the A34 and from Birmingham Airport to the city centre along the A45.
TfWM say all buses using these routes will benefit from quicker and more predictable services – cutting average journey times by 20 per cent along the A45.
A special shuttle bus service for visitors attending Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games events at Alexander Stadium, the NEC and Birmingham city centre will be the first to test out the new lanes.
Funding for the £88m first phase of the project included contributions of £42 million from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) investment fund and £35 million from the Department for Transport.
West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street, said: “Buses have been a real success story here in the West Midlands, and I am delighted we are continuing to invest substantially in the network with the first phase of our new Sprint plans now complete.
“This first phase is part of our overall package of investment with efforts already underway to continue to keep our fares amongst the lowest in the country, deliver more bus priority schemes, and introduce more zero emission buses as shown by the Coventry All Electric Bus City scheme.
“This particular set of new bus lanes and infrastructure has already started to make a meaningful difference for local residents who travel on the A34 and A45 – enabling quicker and more reliable journeys.”
