The first stage of a £19.4 million major project to improve the A602 between Stevenage and Ware has been granted planning permission.

Herts County Council has been given the green light by the development control committee for a new signalised junction at Hertford Road in the Bragbury End area of Stevenage.

The project will convert the existing roundabout into a traffic light controlled T-junction. This will increase the capacity of the junction with the aim of reducing traffic queues during the rush hour.

The work is set to begin mid-2017 – provided a second application is approved in October – and is expected to be complete before the end of 2017.

The A602 – a major route linking the A10 and the A1(M) – has been identified for improvements because of its tight bends, poor visibility, inadequate junctions and traffic jams caused by right-turning vehicles blocking traffic at peak times.

Councillor Terry Douris, cabinet member for highways at County Hall, said: “I’m really pleased we’re making progress with this scheme to improve this very busy route.

“Once we’ve completed the project we should see improved journey times and less congestion, providing motorists with a more reliable route across Hertfordshire.”

The improvement work on the A602 has been separated into four planning applications, with the second – works between Anchor Lane and the A10 – due to be considered by the development control committee in October. A further two applications for the A119 junction and for the section between Heath Mount School and Stony Hills will be submitted next year. Visit www.hertsdirect.org/a602 for more.