A busy slip-road will be closed for three months while work continues on a multi-million-pound junction improvement scheme.

Kent County Council (KCC) confirmed the exit slip of the A249 Sheppey-bound will be closed at the Grovehurst Road roundabout near Sittingbourne while work progresses on the revamp.

The £32.7m scheme was given the green light by county councillors in March 2022.

It is using the existing bridge but replacing the dumbbell design with a new one-way gyratory system incorporating a second bridge.

This is being built on the Sheppey side of the roundabout and will include a cycleway and footpath linking through to Iwade.

The bulk of the cost came from a £38.1m grant from the government's Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF). The rest has been paid for with contributions from housing developers.

This next phase of the scheme will see the exit slip road of the A249, northbound, heading towards the Island, closed from 8pm on Tuesday, May 7, until the morning of Friday, August 30.

During the closure, KCC’s contractor will be completing realignment works on the existing slip road and the works needed to remove the existing roundabout, north of the bridge.

A diversion route will be in place taking traffic up the Sheppey-bound A249 before turning around at the Kingsferry roundabout back on to the Maidstone-bound A249, towards Stockbury, when vehicles can exit via the southbound slip road.

One lane of the Sheppey-bound A249 exit slip road will be reopened during the urgent repairs to the Kingsferry Bridge planned at various times in June and July, to help ease traffic flow in the area and minimise disruption as far as possible.

KCC’s director of highways and transportation, Haroona Chughtai, said: “The A249 Grovehurst Road Improvement Scheme will see a new bridge built over the dual carriageway below, helping to reduce congestion and make journey times more reliable.

“We understand this closure will bring some disruption, but it is necessary if we are to continue to build on the good progress we have already made.

“Our teams will work with our contractor to continue to monitor the traffic management in the area, as we have done throughout the scheme, with the aim of reducing disruption as much as possible.”