Work on a key section of a long-awaited £6.2m Dawlish link road and bridge is set to begin this month.

The project will connect 860 new homes on the outskirts of the town to the A379 Exeter Road.

It is hoped it will direct traffic north out of Dawlish towards Exeter, instead of along Elm Grove Road.

Map of Dawlish link road and bridge (TDC)

The government-funded first phase of the project is marked in yellow on the map above.

The first section of road in area four has already been constructed. Work on the bridge and section of road in area three will begin at the end of this month, and is expected to be complete by next summer.

The developer-funded second phase, marked in blue on the map, will be built afterwards.

Teignbridge District Council Leader Cllr Martin Wrigley (Lib Dem, Dawlish NE) said: "Dawlish residents have been calling for this link road for seven years, and I am delighted that we now have a start date for this vital project.

"To build the link road and bridge has required agreements to be reached with various landowners and the cooperation of developers and I would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to get the project to this stage."

Funding for the project comes from a £4.9m government grant, first agreed in 2019, and £1.3m in developer contributions.