ONE of the worst bottlenecks on Canvey is to be tackled under an £11.8 million project to smash congestion hotspots around the county.

Huge volumes of traffic use the Waterside Farm roundabout at peak times and Essex County Council has announced plans for a major overhaul.

The improvements include widening part of Canvey Way, north of the roundabout, improving road markings and widening lanes at the entrances to the roundabout. There will also be improvements to nearby signs.

It is hoped the scheme will improve the flow of cars around the roundabout to stop traffic building up on the roads which feed it.

Ray Howard, county and borough councillor of Canvey West, welcomed the funding.

He said: "Anything that improves congestion is excellent news. The Sadlers Farm improvements are in the pipeline. I am pushing for improvements to Canvey Way and there is the possible widening of Somnes Avenue, hopefully in the next wave of funding. All these, I believe, will help ease congestion problems considerably."

It is not clear how much of Canvey Way, which has caused the island to come to a standstill following recent accidents, will be widened under the scheme. But many believe that only widening the whole road will bring tangible improvements for motorists.

Mr Howard, a member of the county council highways panel, added: "I will still be pressing for the widening of Canvey Way by 1.5metres so that it can be dualled."

Nick Harvey, Independent councillor for Canvey North, was caught up in a traffic jam in October for 90 minutes.

He was sceptical about whether the work would help. He said: "I think nothing short of dualling the whole of Canvey Way or a third road is going to solve this problem.

"It is no use just widening the road leading to the roundabout, you still get the same amount of traffic converging when the road narrows again."