Relief could be in sight for hard-pressed motorists and residents along Willington Street in Maidstone.

Kent County Council’s planning cabinet committee has given the green light to proposals to increase the capacity of the junctions at either end of road.

The scheme will see the council spend £1.8m to improve the junctions with the A274 Sutton Road and with the A20 Ashford Road. Some £1.4m will come from a Government Growth Fund grant.

Tim Read, the council’s head of transportation, said the junctions were pinch points.

On Sutton Road heading from Maidstone towards Langley, two lanes would be created just before Wallis Avenue, giving traffic longer to select the left lane for Willington Street, or carry straight on.

On the other side, three lanes would give vehicles a dedicated right turn into Willington Street and two lanes to carry along Sutton Road.

Meanwhile at the A20, the road would be widened to give a longer lane for those turning left into Willington Street.

Work could start before the end of the year.