Sittingbourne's Dover Street has re-opened today, marking the completion of the town's new A2 road layout.

With the second phase of the roadworks now complete, the consortium behind Spirit of Sittingbourne said the disruption outside the train station will be minimised.

The re-opening of Dover Street will "significantly improve traffic flow in Sittingbourne town centre, helping to boost footfall for local businesses", it added.

St Michael's Road and Milton Road reopened on Monday, October 22 after four months of being shut, while the remaining works in Dover Street continued and traffic lights were installed where the station roundabout used to be.

Work on Dover Street was due to be completed the week beginning October 29. A Spirit of Sittingbourne spokesman apologised to residents for the delay.

The roadworks, which were originally supposed to be finished before children went back to school in September, are part of the £57 million Spirit of Sittingbourne regeneration project.

Works on the leisure quarter are now underway. This will include an eight-screen cinema, restaurants such as Nandos and Pizza Express and a Travelodge hotel.

As a result, Station Street is now permanently closed off to through traffic at the High Street.

The road now ends at the goods access by Wilko, which means The Forum car park will only be accessible from the A2 St Michael's Road.

A Spirit of Sittingbourne spokesman said: "The re-opening of Dover Street marks the full completion of the second phase of roadworks.

"With the phase now behind us, the disruption outside of the train station will be minimised, and traffic flow will significantly improve in the town centre.

"We apologise for the delay in opening the road and fully appreciate the patience of the people of Sittingbourne during the works.

"We will continue work on the leisure quarter to deliver a wide breadth of retailers in the town centre."

The regeneration is expected to attract up to 400,000 visitors to town a year.

To find out more, visit www.spiritofsittingbourne.com