BUSES and lorries will be forced into another lane or the central reservation because of the poor layout of a new A127 junction, councillors fear.

A larger central reservation has been installed in Rayleigh Road as part of work to widen the Kent Elms junction to three lanes on both carriageways. Just 15ins has been taken from the pavement to accommodate larger vehicles turning left from the dual carriageway onto Rayleigh Road - sparking fears coaches and HGVs will struggle to perform the manoeuvre.

Chris Walker, Conservative councillor for Eastwood ward, a former HGV licence holder, said lorries will have to swing it another lane. He said: “The design is poor. The island is too wide, 2ft wider than before and they have only taken 15in off the pavement on the corner .

“Every bus, coach and HGV turning left sways out into the middle lane.

“They need to return the island to what it was before and cut the kerb back.”

Drawings released by Southend Council, which show how vehicles will progress around corner, show wheels just missing the central reservation and middle lane of the A127.

Stephen Aylen, independent councillor for Belfairs ward sad: “The design is all wrong. I don’t think you can easily get a truck round that corner.

“Trucks and buses will have to swing out into another lane or go over the central reservation in Rayleigh Road.

“It’s got to be looked at but everyone seems to be digging their heels in.”

Work the Rayleigh Road turning is set to be complete this weekend. The whole Kent Elms project is due to finish in December - six months behind its initial target.

A spokesman for Southend Council said: “We have thoroughly tested the final layout on our computer model and this shows that buses and coaches can comfortably turn into and out of Rayleigh Road without overrunning either the adjacent lanes or the traffic island. This is despite the software providing a level of caution within its calculations and movements.”