Improvement works to a major road is set to be rolled out at an engagement to show plans to widen a busy junction to three lanes.

Kent County Council has proposed plans to ease congestion on Sutton Road by providing a widened junction and approaches along both sides of the road.

The junction will be widened to provide three lanes in each direction and dedicated turning lanes into Willington Street and Wallis Avenue.

It is also proposed to improve capacity at the Willington Street junction and to provide bus laybys to improve the free flow of traffic.

Kent County Council Project Manager Russell Boorman said: “The A274 is a strategic route serving the south east of Maidstone and can be accessed from the M20.

“It suffers from congestion in the morning and afternoon peak periods with journey times being unreliable owing to the large amount of traffic.

“With the award of Government Local Growth Funding of £8.9 million, to deliver transport improvements across Maidstone, Kent County Council is now able to actively promote this improvement to reduce congestion and improve journey time reliability at the junction with Willington Street and Wallis Avenue.”

Kent County Council say increased noise is an understandable local concern and an objective of the scheme is to provide traffic noise screening for Bell Meadow and Sutton Road residents.

Sutton Road has a number of mature trees and vegetation, which will need to be removed to accommodate the widened junction.

However, there is an area of land available fronting Sutton Road to allow KCC to re-plant trees, vegetation and enhance the landscaping, together with limited availability to re-plant the area fronting Bell Meadow.

People can view the plans and talk to the Project Team at St Martin’s Church on Northumberland Road, Maidstone, on Friday, August 18, between 3.30pm and 6.30pm.

For more information visit www.kent.gov.uk/suttonroad