The UK’s Kent County Council has signed an agreement with Highways England to enhance the county’s roads and benefit drivers.

The new agreement will improve planning and communication between the two organisations and improve journeys for drivers who depend on Kent’s road network every day.

The deal includes protocols on agreeing and using diversion routes whenever a major road has to close and more flexible use of electronic road signs, giving drivers a complete view of road conditions ahead.

"We have developed a partnership agreement with the aim of empowering road users to better plan their journey and improve their journey times."

It will also include renewing commitments to support road users when Operation Stack is in place and a joint approach to help drivers prepare for driving during winter.

Highways England customer operations director Simon Sheldon-Wilson said: "Customers rightly expect a consistent experience when using main roads and motorways.

"This agreement, the first of its kind, will help both organisations to provide that by bringing together best practice and building on the positive, day-to-day relationship we already have with Kent County Council.

"It will form a guide which anyone in either of our organisations can call upon and help provide a seamless service for customers across Kent."

As part of the deal, the two organisations will share information about incidents to better improve the information on the county’s message signs.

The deal will also see coordination between roadworks to ensure the availability of diversion routes while road improvements are in progress.

Kent County Council highways, transportation and waste director Roger Wilkin said: "We have worked closely with Highways England to identify how we can improve the way we work together to better manage the highway network across Kent.

"We have developed a partnership agreement with the aim of empowering road users to better plan their journey and improve their journey times.

"Through effective joint working we will be able to minimise congestion and disruption, better manage incidents, improve planning for major events and optimise use of our assets to deliver effective messaging and consistent communication."