Drivers will face four months of traffic disruption while a £4.4m overhaul is carried out designed to improve a major Kent route.

Kent County Council says the A299, which runs from Whitstable and Herne Bay to Thanet, has become “bumpy” due to underlying soil growing and shrinking with the changing weather.

To combat this, the authority has planned more than four months of works, diversions and closures on the Thanet Way.

It will start on March 11 with overnight closures, and it is set to achieve a “noticeable difference in the quality of the surface” which, the authority claims, “will be welcomed by all road users”.

A spokesman for the authority said: “Part of the A299 Thanet Way will undergo extensive reconstruction work from April following temporary repairs made to the road to keep it safe in recent years.

“We were successful in bidding for £4 million from the Department for Transport’s Challenge Fund, supported by an allocation of about £420,000 from our own road maintenance budget, which will be used to complete the works.

“The ground below the coastbound A299 has expanded and contracted with hotter summers and wetter winters, meaning the road can be left bumpy as a result of the underlying soil growing and shrinking.

“We will excavate the road to a significant depth and rebuild it with a much stronger construction.”

A contraflow system will be in place while the diggers roll in, running from the turn-off for Whitstable to the Chestfield Tunnel.

KCC’s cabinet member for highways and transport, Neil Baker, said: “These extensive reconstruction works are essential if we are to continue to keep this road safe, and to minimise future disruption.

“We realise some will be inconvenienced by this planned maintenance, but we have worked hard to come up with a way of doing this that minimises disruption to the travelling public as much as possible.

“Once this essential maintenance is completed we are confident there will be a noticeable difference in the quality of the surface, which I know will be welcomed by all road users.”

Guy Opperman, Government minister for roads and local transport, added: “Motorists and roads users in Kent deserve safe, modern and smooth roads they can rely on.

“That’s why it’s great to see Kent County Council now invest £4 million from Government to resurface the A299 Thanet Way between Whitstable and the Chestfield Tunnel and tackle potholes.

“These improvements come on top of £135 million we’re investing to resurface roads all across Kent over the next 11 years, as we continue to put drivers back in the driving seat.”

The first phase of the work will run from March 11 till March 29.

During this time, the A299 will be closed in both directions overnight between Whitstable and Herne Bay while the crossover point for the traffic that the contraflow is expected to handle is upgraded.

Traffic will be diverted on the A2990 between 8pm and 5am each night, and lane closures may be needed during the day.

Then, from April 5 to April 13, just the London-bound carriageway will be closed each night from 7pm to 7am.

A temporary 40mph speed limit will be in place 24 hours a day and lane closures may be required.

From April 15 to July 12, reconstruction works will commence on the coast-bound side, with the contraflow in place.

Finally, the final phase will start, lasting until July 20.

During this time, the London-bound side will be closed overnight, and 40mph speed limits will be in place during the day.

Drivers travelling coast-bound will be unaffected.