Parts of a major motorway are set to close multiple times across several months due to road improvements.

A section of the M2 between Sittingbourne and Faversham will close on various dates until the summer as old safety barriers are removed and resurfacing completed.

National Highways will also be carrying out some improvements to the drainage on the road between junctions 5 and 7.

A spokesman said: “As we need to remove the old barriers to complete our work, we’ll be putting in narrow lanes on the M2 to keep everyone on the motorway safe.

“We’ll be starting our work in the central reservation, moving to the hard shoulder in the spring.”

There will be free recovery while the narrow lanes are in place.

Since January 3, narrow lanes have been put in place alongside a reduced speed limit on the coastbound carriageway between junction 5 and 6 – two lanes are still open to motorists.

Today, the highways company is closing the M2 coastbound between junctions 4 and 6, from 8pm and 6am for resurfacing works.

During this closure a diversion will be in place via the A229, M20, A20, A252, and A251.

Then from Wednesday, January 10, until Friday, January 19 – excluding Saturday 13 January – the M2 London-bound will be closed overnight from 8pm to 6am between junction 7 and 5.

During the closures a diversion will be in place via the A2, A20, M20 and A249.

From 6am on Thursday, January 11, there will be narrow lanes and a reduced speed limit on the London-bound carriageway between junction 7 and 5 – two lanes will be open for traffic.

The spokesman added: “You may also notice work within the hard shoulder on the London-bound carriageway during the day on Wednesday 10 and Thursday, January 11.”

On the same day, and on Friday, January 12, the dedicated link between the M2 coastbound and A299 Thanet Way will be closed between 8pm and 6am each night. To join the A299, motorists should use the roundabout.

“In mid-April we’ll be moving the narrow lanes on the M2 coastbound towards the central reservation to allow us to start improvements to the drainage and barriers on hard shoulder,” the spokesman explained.

“To do this, we’ll need to close each carriageway for up to seven nights. We’ll provide more details of when these closures will be as work progresses.

“We’re due to complete our improvements in summer 2024, when the narrow lanes will be removed.

“This work is subject to favourable weather conditions, for example heavy rain may affect the progress.”

For more information visit the National Highways website.