Artists and students are teaming up to give one of Gravesend’s biggest infrastructure projects something of a makeover.

Rathmore Road has become almost unrecognizable over the past year after Kent County Council and Gravesham council committed funds to redesigning the route to improve traffic flow.

Work began last May and isn’t expected to be finished until this coming autumn, so a street art project has been set up to make it less of an eyesore.

Professional artists 1717 Alliance will decorate the hoardings alongside youngsters from Thamesview School, St George’s School, and Northfleet Technology College, with Gravesend’s 500 years of river history acting as the inspiration.

The borough council and construction firm Jackson Civil Engineering are paying for the art project, which should be on show by Monday, March 6.

Jackson’s Carole Jones said: “We recognise that construction work, by its very nature, can cause inconvenience and disruption to local people.

“We’re therefore keen to try and alleviate some of the impact of our presence while we’re in the construction phase.

“The street art project will be a great way of brightening up the site hoarding, which faces Lord Street, and will help to raise awareness of Gravesend’s vibrant history.”

1717 Alliance will join students from all three schools at Thamesview later this month to work on the mural to go along the hoardings, but some temporary graffiti art has already gone up.

Cllr Jordan Meade (Con), the council’s cabinet member for heritage, tourism, the arts and young people said the project was “a fantastic opportunity for young people in Gravesham to be creative and embrace the rich heritage of our great town”.

He added: “I am proud to be supporting a project which illuminates our borough’s past in a modern and engaging way and I am sure that an amazing piece of art will be produced for everyone to enjoy.”

“The street art project will be a great way of brightening up the site hoarding, which faces Lord Street, and will help to raise awareness of Gravesend’s vibrant history" Carole Jones

Plans to introduce a two-way Rathmore Road linking Wrotham Road and Darnley Road were first unveiled in 2014, forming part of borough council leader Cllr John Cubitt’s (Con) aspiration for Gravesend to have a “bona fide transport quarter”.

The £9.5 million scheme, covered by £4.2m in Local Growth Funding and a £5.3m Kent Thameside Strategic Transport Programme grant, is creating a link route across the old 225-space Rathmore Road car park.

Speaking at the start of work last year, Cllr Cubitt said: “It is a case of short-term pain for long-term gain but it is part of a puzzle. In the years ahead people will have a far greater appreciation for the work being done.”