HIGHWAYS chiefs have now temporarily closed a busy Kingswinford road as investigations to try to resolve a water leak continue.

A section of the carriageway on Stallings Lane has been affected by a leak underground, which has forced water up to the surface and damaged the integrity of the road.

Excavations this week revealed the highway construction was failing as a result of saturated ground.

Contractors have been appointed to make the highway safe as a matter of urgency with Stallings Lane now closed until ground movement can be stabilised, Dudley Council confirmed today (Thursday).

Temporary traffic lights were installed earlier this year for the safety of motorists, but the council has taken the decision to completely close the affected stretch of road for the time being to ensure public safety.

Councillor Shaz Saleem, Dudley Council's cabinet member for highways and public realm, said: "Our engineers are on site trying to find the cause of this issue and we have contractors there who have closed the road in order to ensure public safety.

"We know this is frustrating, but we have to keep people safe.

"We are carrying out extensive investigations to find out where the water is coming from.

"Once we get this underlying issue resolved and repaired we will be able to repair the road itself and re-open it to motorists.

"We don’t know how long it will take to establish the source of the water, so we ask people to bear with us while we work as quickly and safely as we can."

Council engineers met with Severn Trent and South Staffs Water to investigate the problem recently and will be working with them as their investigations continue.