PLANS to alleviate congestion in Worcestershire have been given a boost thanks to an injection of £300,000 of government funding.

The money has been awarded to Worcestershire County Council by the Department for Transport and will be used on innovative technology to help traffic flow better.

The money will pay for an Automated Information Sharing System (AISS), which will be accessible to multi-partner agencies.

This technology will be used to link up traffic lights, helping them to work more intelligently together in response to traffic build-up.

It will also allow highways staff access to the same live traffic management information, including in their vehicles, as well as giving the emergency services instant access to the same data.

Connecting them in this way means in the event of a crash, emergency responders can reach the scene quicker and drivers can be diverted away more effectively.

Interactive large screen displays will provide live journey times, planned and emergency road works and information about incidents.

An app is also proposed that drivers will eventually be able to use to see real-time information on traffic hotspots.

Better congestion management is also hoped to lead to improvements to the environment with less exhaust emissions building up in busy areas.

The council is one of a number of authorities across the country to have been awarded a share of £4 million pounds of technology funding from the Government to cut congestion, speed up journeys and clean up the environment.

The amount given to Worcestershire is among the highest given to any council.

Robin Walker, MP for Worcester, said: “This funding is very welcome news for everyone who uses Worcester’s roads.

"Worcestershire County Council submitted an excellent bid to use the latest technology to help keep the county moving and keep motorists safe – it is fantastic that we have now received the largest share of grant funding of any local authority.”

“I know that both road safety and traffic congestion are major concerns for many constituents – this funding is further evidence of the Government’s commitment to addressing these concerns, as well as improving the county’s infrastructure and driving our economy forward.

“In conjunction with the ongoing progress of dualling the Southern Link road and the recent announcement of £1.1 million in pothole repair funding for the county, this is yet more good news for Worcester motorists and public transport users alike.”

Nigel Huddleston, MP for Mid Worcestershire, also welcomed the announcement as "great news" and said he received many emails and letters about congestion.

He said: "Traffic congestion and road safety are two top concerns for my Mid Worcestershire constituents and the allocation of these funds is a welcome indication that the Government is committed to addressing them.”

Councillor Marcus Hart, cabinet member for Highways said: "This investment will have a significant impact on the efficiency of our highway network, improve our response time to incidents and provide better real time travel information to our residents as they make their way across the county."

Roads Minister Andrew Jones, said the money had been earmarked for "cutting-edge, innovative ideas" that would transform journeys for passengers and motorists across the country.