Crippling lane closures in Maidstone town centre will continue throughout rush hour tonight despite repeated assurances that will not happen.

The much talked about £5.7m gyratory scheme will see two new lanes created to enable drivers using the A229 toward Blue Bell Hill and Chatham to avoid the bridge system.

The project began last month and is expected to run until at least November, with the initial six-week phase due to end this week.

That part of the scheme will involve electrical works, including temporarily moving streetlights and traffic lights and a substation in the middle of the gyratory.

It will also see traffic islands removed and the subways blocked as well as the widening of Fairmeadow.

It is hoped the new layout will ease congestion, reducing journey times by as much as 74 seconds.

Kent County Council has previously assured motorists contractors would not work between 7.30am and 9.30am and 4pm to 6pm but this evening tweeted work will continue through rush-hour.

The authority warned drivers to expect long delays and seek out alternative routes but with closures in Tovil due to an unexploded bomb that might be difficult.

The authority later tweeted to say due to the depth of the excavation on the south island the lane closures have had to be left in place for safety reasons.

Traffic coming into the town is queuing for miles.

Maidstone Bridges on Twitter have said that peak lane closures were caused by a 'deeper than expected hole' that made the lane unsafe for drivers.

Peak lane closures are not expected on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, but they will be in place during the Thursday evening rush hour.