East Kent Access Road during construciton, from Minster to Pegwell

An £86m road is to be officially opened today by local transport minister Norman Baker.

The front bencher will join Kent County Council leader Paul Carter and South Thanet MP Laura Sandys to officially open the East Kent Access Road.

Its completion aims to help support economic growth and create jobs across the eastern part of the county.

It also means better transport links to such sites as Manston Airport; the Discovery Park on the former Pfizer site, Eurokent - a mixed-use site - and Manston Business Park.

Eurokent and Manston business parks are joint initiatives between Kent County Council and Thanet District Council that have the potential to deliver 550 homes and 4,000 jobs.

The new road was built by Kent County Council with £81.25 million funding from the Department for Transport and £5.75 million from KCC.