Works on a £1.4 million scheme on the A34 Stone Road in Stafford have now reached their final phase.

The final phase of works started on August 14, with the road from Balfour Grove to Holmcroft Road completely resurfaced over the course of 6 weeks.

The extensive works include planing off the carriageway, replacing ironwork, resurfacing the road, and finishing off with white lining.

The scheme is all part of the £30 million investment the county council is making into its roads over the next two years. The investment aims to improve major gateways into Staffordshire and is on top of an extra £5 million to fix highways defects across the county.

Signed closures and diversions will be in place for the length of the works, including a full closure of the A34 Stone Road from September 11 to 15.

Lollipop men and women from across Staffordshire celebrated the 70^th anniversary of the School Crossing Patrol service (SCP).

The service was created in 1953 with the first official patrol starting the year after. While the uniform and sign have changed slightly to meet modern standards, and patrols can now stop traffic to cross any pedestrian, adult or child, the role is essentially the same today as it was 70 years ago.

Staffordshire has more than 220 patrols, working outside schools and busy sections of roads, including people from all walks of life. Currently the youngest patrol is 26 and the oldest is 83.

Amongst the patrols celebrating is former fireman Chris Hagon from Rugeley.  Chris, aged 69 said: “I’ve been a lollipop man for over three years now and I have to say, it must be one of the greatest jobs in the world.  Knowing that you’re doing an important role helping out is a great sense of achievement.”

Karen Mangan, also from Rugeley, has been in the job for six years. She said: “It’s a lovely job, I am always out in the fresh air and I get to speak to lots of nice children and their parents, and I couldn’t recommend this job enough.”

An £800,000 scheme to resurface a busy junction in Lichfield will be finished in time for the new school year.

Teams have been carrying out the work at Eastern Avenue and Grange Lane for the past few weeks. The scheme includes the resurfacing of Eastern Avenue from the junction of the A51 Stafford Road, the installation of new traffic lights at the junction, and the upgrading of an existing puffin crossing on Eastern Avenue to a toucan crossing that allows bicycles to cross at the same time as pedestrians.  A new puffin crossing is also being installed across Grange Lane, to help students getting to the The Friary School nearby.

Funding for the scheme was secured from the HS2 road safety fund and a  successful Staffordshire County Council bid for Department for Transport grant funding. 

Work on a £1.6 million new town centre cycleway in Burton which will connect to a wider network to support sustainable and active travel is progressing to its final stages.

The Station Street/Borough Road route between the town centre and railway station will be the first of many sections that will improve connectivity across the town.

Further planned sections will connect to the town hall, canal, hospital, Shobnall Leisure Centre, schools, residential areas and the existing cycle network, including the National Cycle Network (NCN).

Throughout these works, we're working with local business and partners to showcase the very best of service, food and produce that is uniquely Burton, to encourage people to shop local and make the most of businesses on their doorstep. 

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