Black Country Route
| Black Country Route | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Existed: | 1986-1988 – present |
| Major junctions | |
| From: | Bilston |
| To: | Walsall |
| Road network | |
The Black Country Route is a road in the West Midlands region of England.
The plans for a motorway were 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 new M6 motorway. A town centre by-pass for Bilston, planned to form a spur road to the main route, was given the go-ahead in 1964. By 1968 work had yet to start on any of the route, but it was appearing on maps as a "proposed motorway" and work was expected to start in the early 1970s. However, none of this happened and within a few years the plans were shelved. However, neighbouring Willenhall did gain a dual carriageway southern by-pass, The Keyway, during the 1970s, which would have linked up to the planned motorway and formed an ideal link road to any further "urban motorway".
However, plans to build the Black Country Route project were revived in the early 1980s, since the congestion in the surrounding area was gradually worsening.
At points along the Black Country Route large sculptures can be seen. Some are very large and located in the roundabouts. An example of one of the smaller well-hidden ones is the group of wooden statues designed by Robert Koenig called "Steel Columns." "This sculpture was made from 15 lengths of sweet chestnut which stretch up to 6 metres in height. The male and female figures depicted are based on those found in old Victorian photographs of Bilston. The title "Steel Columns" is a reference to Bilston’s steel making background and the connection the figures had with this history."
As re-development and new development commence along the road route more artworks are commissioned as part of the local planning policy, a strategy the Dudley MBC has employed for many years. This strategy a form of Percent for Art requires the developers to include a budget in their scheme to purchase and commission an artform as part of the development. For example on the tower of the new Citadel building a stainless steel hovering Kestrel, beady eyes focused, talons outstretched, hovering and ready to strike, can be found suspended 14m from the ground. The sculpture was design by the British Sculptor John Mckenna and his artistic associate Steve Field of the Dudley Borough Public Art unit at Himley Hall.
...
Wikipedia