People facing the daily frustration of traffic jams on Medway City Estate can now use a spy-cam to check how busy the roads are.

The estate, with more than 5,000 workers, routinely changes from an industrial estate to a car park come 5pm.

At its worst, commuters were facing delays of over an hour to travel less than a mile, and this summer Medway Council announced a £400,000 package of works to get traffic moving.

The first phase included widening the exit road on to the A289 and Berwick Way, creating a clearer three lanes for cars to filter.

The second phase, to be carried out from 2016 to 2018, includes new CCTV cameras and allowing estate workers to access the feed via the council’s website to check on any queues. This has been completed earlier than expected, and is now up and running.

Cllr Phil Filmer, head of frontline services, said it meant people would be able to plan their journeys home and the best time to leave.

The cameras provide two images, one of the main roundabout on to the estate where traffic is normally gridlocked come rush hour. The other looks down Anthony’s Way from the roundabout at Whitewall Road, where cars are often backed up at peak times.

The images come from a live feed so when the page is refreshed they give an up-to-the-second view of the traffic picture.

New traffic lights on the A289, just before the tunnel, are due to be installed imminently.

Traffic from Gillingham and Chatham will be stopped for a few seconds just before entering the tunnel.

Almost 3,500 motorists drive on and off the estate during morning and evening rush hour. The council secured funding for the improvements from the government’s Local Growth Fund. But that money is only being handed over in instalments, over three years.

Over the next two years plans include:

• A river taxi to Chatham town centre.
• A dedicated slip lane from Anthony’s Way roundabout onto the A289.
• Slip roads at Sans Pareil and Four Elms roundabouts.

View the live CCTV feed here.