Detailed proposals are due to be submitted to Ministers for the first phase of the scheme to try to to bolster the transport infrastructure across York for the next three years.

A £24m cash injection under the Access York strategy has already been approved by the Regional Transport Board, but the Government now needs to rubber-stamp the plans to ensure the improvements become a reality.

Such funding would be the largest single investment in the city's transport infrastructure since the northern ring road was opened in the late 1980s, according to senior York councillors.

York Council's executive member for city strategy, Coun Steve Galloway, said: "It is vital for the economic well-being of the city that these improvements are given the go-ahead.

"The proposals will reduce the amount of traffic not just in the city centre, but along the northern ring road as well. Anyone attempting to enter the city from the north has been faced with significant congestion, and the proposals are aimed at combating this.

"The Access York plans are linked to other investment in transport, as well as the expansion of housing and commercial growth in the city. It cannot be stressed enough how important this funding is to the future of York."

The multi-million-pound investment will pay for an expansion of the city's hugely successful park and ride scheme, which has helped control the amount of traffic in York.

More than four million passengers use the existing service each year, and the Regional Transport Board's funds will pay for two new park-and-ride sites on the A59 and Wigginton Road with a total of 1,250 spaces.

The cash will also be used to relocate the existing Askham Bar park-and-ride to a former tip nearby – and dramatically increase its capacity to 1,250 spaces.

According to Coun Galloway, the new park-and-rides should help remove several hundred car journeys into the city centre each hour.

The city's highways network is also due to be improved, with more bus lanes and bus services.

The Regional Transport Board announced in April that it had backed the £24m investment for York as part of a £170m package of spending across the Yorkshire region.

The money for the city will also be used to improve transport links to one of England's largest brownfield sites – York Central and the nearby former British Sugar factory.

The overarching York Northwest development, which includes both sites, covers 185 acres and has been heralded as a "once in a millennium opportunity"", with plans for housing, offices and leisure space.

In, June, the city heard it would receive £3.8m of £90m being spent on English towns and cities to promote cycling.

Plans for York include making the northern stretch of the outer ring road into a dual carriageway. The route was last year dubbed "Yorkshire's answer to the M25" by former GNER chief executive Christopher Garnett, who headed an independent review of the city's economy.

The Yorkshire Post revealed in April that motorists faced more than 18 million hours of delays on major roads in and around Yorkshire last year.

Drivers faced average hold-ups of 10 minutes on 49-mile journeys along the M62, extending the journey time from 42 to nearly 52 minutes, a 24 per cent increase.

Schemes such as the park-and-ride sites have helped York keep traffic at 1997 levels..

York Council's executive is due to meet next Tuesday to discuss submitting the detailed plans to the Department for Transport.