Contractors have penned a deal to deliver a multimillion-pound road-widening scheme to ease gridlock at a busy pinch point.

Jackson Civil Engineering has been awarded the contract to build the A28 Chart Road into a dual carriageway between the Tank Roundabout and Matalan.

It will mean the delivery of two new roundabouts, as well as the construction of a new bridge over the railway at Chart Leacon.

The £32 million plans were first revealed in November 2015, with funding to come from the South East Local Enterprise Partnership and from housing developers at Chilmington Green, alongside Kent County Council and Ashford Borough Council.

KCC cabinet member for transport Cllr Matthew Balfour said: “Chart Road is a key strategic route in Ashford, and these improvements are vital to address existing congestion and to serve the future development planned for the south of Ashford.

“We have been working hard to get this important scheme under way, so that the town and local community begin to get the benefits of the completed project as early as possible.”

The plans had faced criticism from some residents in Godinton Park, who fear being “choked” by traffic fumes from the dual carriageway.

It will create a new central reservation, which means traffic turning out of Cobbs Wood Industrial Estate and the household waste tip will no longer be able to turn right.

The widening scheme will also mean that the owners of the historic East Lodge will lose a portion of their back garden, with the perimeter wall needing to be knocked down and rebuilt a metre closer to the property.

But Jackson Civil Engineering regional director Rupert Chitty said the scheme will benefit the community and is needed to ease traffic congestion.

He said: “We are delighted to have been appointed as the main contractor for this scheme in Ashford.

“We have a regional base in the county and a lot of our people are Ashford-based, so we realise the importance of Chart Road to the town and the wider community.”

Work is now expected to start early next year, and will take 18 months to complete.

The road is being widened as part of the infrastructure needed for the massive Chilmington Green housing development, construction of which is expected to start soon.

What do you think about the plans? Email: kentishexpress@thekmgroup.co.uk