MONEY from new housing developments in Dunfermline will fund £37 million of road improvements over the next 20 years.

And the first major upgrade was due to start this week with traffic lights to be installed at the Pitreavie roundabout.

With thousands of new homes set to be built in and around Dunfermline, improvements to the transport network are required to keep the traffic flowing smoothly.

Fife Council's transport spokesman, Councillor Altany Craik, said: "Fife's local development plan sets out how the area will grow and develop over the next 20 years, and our roads have to be fit for purpose.

"Developers have to contribute to the improvement of the road network where they cause an impact, and I'm delighted that the first of the works will be improvements to the Pitreavie roundabout in the town – something I know will be welcomed by residents and visitors."

The £900,000 scheme to instal new traffic lights at the roundabout, next to Sky's call centre, will also include an additional southbound lane on the Queensferry Road approach.

The work is due to be completed by the end of February.

Cllr Craik said: "This is the first of several measures we'll be putting in place to make sure our local roads network will work effectively for pedestrians, cyclists and cars, as new housing and businesses are developed in the Dunfermline area.

"These improvements will all be funded through financial contributions secured through planning permission for each development where they are not directly constructed by developers.

"And they will be delivered when and where they are needed, to make sure we take a phased approach when an impact is created by development.

"Overall, more than £37m of road improvement projects will be delivered, completely funded by developers, and will see several improvements to the transportation network in Dunfermline over the next two decades."

The council said last year it had long been recognised that the “significant expansion” of Dunfermline would have an impact on the roads and a transport appraisal was carried out.

It identified that new roads, a Northern Link Road (NLR) and Western Distributor Road (WDR), would be needed as well as traffic lights at Bothwell Gardens roundabout, the King Malcolm / Grange Drive roundabout and the Kings Road / Admiralty Road roundabout in Rosyth.

Three road bridges will be built over railway lines and improvements will be made to the junctions at Whitefield Road / Halbeath Road, William Street / Pittencrieff Street and Rumblingwell / William Street.

The £14.3m NLR will provide an alternative east-west traffic corridor in Dunfermline between the Halbeath bypass and Carnock Road, while the £17m WDR will run between the King Malcolm roundabout and Rumblingwell.

While this would cost more than £31m, both estimates are at 2017 prices and are likely to have increased since then.

The new roads are designed to serve the vast new housing estates at the likes of Halbeath, Wellwood and Broomhall, where thousands of homes are to be built, and take traffic away from the town centre.