The future of Birmingham’s Queensway tunnels is under the spotlight as part of the city council’s transport plan.
But closure is unlikely to be considered so soon after the council, via its highways contractor Amey, has invested several million pounds in their refurbishment.
The second phase of the works are due to take place next summer.
Council leader Sir Albert Bore has long advocated joining the Queensway and St Chad’s tunnels to turn them into a city centre through road and allow Great Charles Street to become an open boulevard linking to the Jewellery Quarter.
It is traffic joining and leaving the A38 at this point which provides the biggest barrier to the city centre expansion.
A report into the proposal two years ago concluded that joining the tunnels would cost in the region of £64 million.
Plans have already been approved to remove Paradise Circus roundabout into a junction as part of the redevelopment of the Central Library site over the next five years.
And the new Birmingham Mobility Action Plan urges businesses, residents and transport chiefs to have ‘a conversation’ about the future of the A38 through the city centre.
Transport consultant Simon Statham, who worked on the plan said that A38 was a major problem because it encouraged people who are not visiting the city centre to add to the congestion.
He said: “We need to have an open debate about the A38.
"We have 80,000 cars per day, many of which are not even visiting the city centre. It also severs the city centre in half.
“We have to cut the numbers of cars coming into the city centre."
