MOTORISTS travelling in Dudley are being warned to expect delays around one of the borough's busiest roundabouts for the next two months.

Works are taking place on Castle Gate island as part of a £1.5m project to improve air quality in the borough.

The work is expected to be completed in November, with heavier works taking place at night when traffic is lighter.

Drivers have been warned, however, that some work will take place from 9.30am to 3.30pm on weekdays which is expected to cause delays to journeys.

The project is part of a larger scheme to tackle vehicle emissions following a £1.5 million government grant earlier in the year, which will also see work take place on Wordsley High Street.

Councillor Karen Shakespeare, cabinet member for environmental, highways and street services, said: "Improving air quality is a real focus for us as a council, and this welcome government funding will be used to reduce air pollution at key locations across the borough.

"We would have liked to undertake the highway works during the summer months, when traditionally traffic flows are lighter.

"However, Castle Gate is a major junction for Tipton Road where there are significant visitor attractions during the summer months and we had to take that into consideration.

"The nature of these works is very complex and we will have contractors out working at night in order to minimise the inconvenience for motorists.

"Unfortunately, to invest in the future and improve the operation of the junction, there is inevitably going to be disruption. We apologise for that and will do all we can to keep it to a minimum for the duration of the works."

The work will see the installation of new traffic signalling technology to improve vehicle flow.