NEIGHBOURS are worried extra lanes on Nottingham's ring road will make them feel they are "living on a motorway".
Work on the £16.2 million project began earlier this month.
Part of it will see the northbound carriageway between the Crown Island and Nuthall Road widened from two to three lanes.
This has led some residents in Western Boulevard to express concerns and they are considering a protest by not paying council tax.
Michelle Lowe, 51, fears the project will increase traffic levels rather than help ease congestion as planned.
She said: "It will be like living on a motorway.
"It is already difficult to get my car out onto the road. This will make it even worse.
"Then there are issues like pollution and noise from the traffic."
Gurcharan Kandola, 65, also has major concerns.
He said: "I don't see how they can say it will make it much better. It will just get busier.
"I have lived on this road for many years now and it just seems to get worse every year."
Work on the ring road junction with Aspley Lane started yesterday.
The project will see the roundabout replaced by traffic signals, which the city council believes helps traffic flow quicker.
At the same time, the widening work will take place, while there will also be improved pedestrian and cyclist crossing facilities.
A consultation meeting was held last week for nearby residents at Bluecoat Academy.
But Mrs Lowe said they had not been told about it.
"We never had anything to tell us about the event," she said.
"It feels like this whole area has been neglected. Why should we pay our rates when this happens? They don't seem to be bothered."
Marilyn Lee, 60, also of Western Boulevard, added: "It is going to be really bad. The whole issue is very upsetting."
The road is one of Nottingham's busiest and is currently used by 50,000 vehicles a day.
The improvement work will take place on roads between the junctions with Mansfield Road and Derby Road.
A city council spokesman said: "We have put in a lot of effort to keep people informed about these projects.
"We have sent out leaflets to residents about the works and about the drop-in, plus there have been posters at community centres, Twitter and Facebook postings and substantial press coverage.
"The improvement works on Aspley Lane began yesterday and end in December to make the road safer for cyclists and help traffic flow around the city."
