THIS is how the A127 at Progress Road will look once a £5.2million road widening scheme is complete.

Work is due to start on the scheme any day now.

The long-awaited improvements to the junction, which is notorious for rush-hour delays, are expected to begin in the next two weeks.

The improvements aim to cut down on delays by more than 25 per cent in peak periods and more during quieter parts of the day.

Southend Council has gained a grant of £4.7million from the Government’s community infrastructure fund for the work and the council is adding £500,000 to the total cost.

A flyover or underpass were ruled out as too costly, but the widening scheme will bring an extra lane, allow traffic to turn left quicker and better timings on traffic lights to improve the overall flow.

The road will be reduced to one lane each way between 6am and 8pm, with any further restrictions carried out outside these times. It will not affect pedestrians and cyclists.

However, the roadworks, which will be carried out at the same time as those at Cuckoo Corner and Victoria Square, are set to cause months of disruption, particularly to commuters who travel into Southend during rush-hour, but the end result will, it is hoped, lead to vastly improved journey times.

Southend Council leader Nigel Holdcroft has assured motorists everything will be done to minimise the impact of the project.

He said: “I am quite confident it will improve traffic flow significantly. It is part of a strategy to improve traffic flow from the west.

“It has got to be finished and the money spent by March 2011 or we will lose the funding. We are working hard to keep disruption to a minimum and to keep traffic flow at peak hours as unaffected as possible. We are keeping people updated on our website to warn them of any particular difficulties. In the long term, it will be a great improvement for motorists.”