A key route to a Kent town has finally reopened – after being closed for a year for work on a multi-million-pound series of improvements.

Bullockstone Road, which links Herne Bay with the A291 to Canterbury, has been shut since August last year.

Now, work on building a new roundabout at the junction of Bullockstone Road and the A291 has been completed after seven months.

It means motorists are finally able to once again take the more direct route between Canterbury and Herne Bay.

Residents reacting to the news on a Herne Bay Facebook group said it was “about b***** time”, while others said “hip, hip hooray” and “Hallelujah”.

The works are part of a Kent County Council project, called the Bullockstone Road Improvement Scheme.

It will see the rat-run fitted with widened carriageways and two new roundabouts, including the newly-opened one at the A291 turning. The second roundabout is near Lower Herne Road.

Bullockstone Road will also be equipped with a shared foot and cycle path and have its speed limit reduced to 40mph.

In all, Bullockstone Road will be lined by more than 1,000 new properties, as developers eye up four plots along the thoroughfare.

A Kent County Council spokesman explained in January: “The improvements to the route will reduce congestion through Herne, provide reliable journey times and improve safety by providing better access to pedestrians and cyclists.”