£60m towards WMM extension
ADDITIONAL Government funding of £60 million, which comes as part of the latest devolution deal for West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), will help overcome the financial shortfall for the second stage of the Wednesbury-Brierley Hill West Midlands Metro extension. The section as far as Flood Street in Dudley is due to open next year, but rising construction costs prompted the WMCA Board to split the remainder of the route, which will run via Merry Hill Shopping Centre to Brierley Hill, into a separate phase as it examined ways to cover the increased price of completion. West Midlands Mayor Andy Street says that the Government cash puts WMCA in a “strong position” to secure the remaining funding required for finishing work on the extension “at the earliest opportunity”.