The four-month closure of two slip roads between the M2 and the A249 has been extended yet again due to the recent spout of cold weather.

Despite Highways England promising at the beginning of last month that the elements had not affected its work the opening date of the Sittingbourne junction 5 slip road closure has been pushed back for a second time.

Conservative councillor for The Meads, Cllr James Hunt, shared the update on Facebook saying "this news is just in from National Highways, and it's not good."

A National Highways spokesman said: "We’ve made good progress on the coastbound slip roads recently but due to the cold weather we’re currently experiencing and forecast for the rest of the week, we’ll be unable to complete the last stages of the work such as putting down the final layer of surfacing and line painting.

"If we carry out the work when it’s too cold, the surface quickly freezes, becomes brittle and could crack, meaning we’d need to return and resurface the slips again, causing further disruption.

"As the temperatures are too low for us to carry out this work to ensure the final surfacing is safe and will last, it means that the reopening of the coastbound slip roads will be delayed a week and are now planned to reopen on Monday, January 30.

"We’d like to apologise that the slips aren’t reopening when planned but unfortunately the freezing temperatures this week, have caused the delay."

Stunning drone pictures revealed just what progress had been made as part of the £92m revamp of one of the county's busiest roundabouts.

The closures, in place since September 11 last year, have meant motorists travelling coast-bound along the M2 have been forced to follow diversions when heading for Sittingbourne, Sheppey and Maidstone, with the exit and entry to the A249 off limits at Junction 5.

The upgrade to the Stockbury roundabout, which was given the green light in June 2021 and includes a flyover for traffic heading to and from Maidstone and Sittingbourne, promises to cut queues on the congested A249.

However, in the mean time traffic chaos has been caused by the closures in the nearby towns.

Swale councillor Mike Whiting (Con) slammed National Highways' closure plan.

He said last August: "We all want to see improvements to the Stockbury Roundabout at Junction 5 of the M2, and many of us fought for years to get the government to agree to fund the £100 million project.

"But the closure of two of the four slip roads between the motorway and the A249 for four months – is astonishing.

"The additional commuting time and cost for many will cause real hardship and is unacceptable, and we know that many will chose to use the A2 between Rainham and Faversham rather than the protracted diversion routes National Highways is putting in place, and we all know what happens when we load more traffic through Newington, Key Street, Sittingbourne and Teynham – it's gridlock."

Due to the congestion caused by the Stockbury work Kent County Council and Medway Council postponed other roadworks.

However, with some due to start on January 23 when the slip roads were meant to open after a first delay, Cllr Hunt said he was "unsure" as to what will happen.

He said: "I am unsure what is going to happen with other roadworks that were due to start as the slip road reopened.

"This includes widening work by the Staplehurst Road roundabout in Sonora Fields.

"I will await to see if KCC delay these as has been the case before."