A multi-million-pound roundabout revamp has been delayed - with “issues trapping reptiles” among the reasons.

The A249 Grovehurst Road Improvement Scheme between Iwade and Kemsley near Sittingbourne will not be completed at the end of the year as originally anticipated.

Kent County Council has confirmed today that the £32.7 million project it is set to be finished in June next year, at least six months later than scheduled.

Work started in September to improve the junction by installing a new second bridge over the A249.

KCC’s contractor said the delay was partly caused by constraints on traffic management and utility works.

It also pointed to when the Maidstone-bound A249 had to be fully reopened at the end of last year while alternative solutions were found to stop the traffic chaos leaving the Island.

Further problems came when Network Rail undertook urgent repairs to the nearby Kingsferry Bridge.

There were also issues with trapping reptiles found on site which needed to be safely relocated, a KCC statement said.

Based on estimates, the exit and entry slip roads from the Sheppey-bound A249 will reopen in August this year.

This will be around the same time as the new bridge deck is installed.

Traffic management on the A249 is due to be lifted in January 2025 and all other roadworks being complete by May 2025.

KCC’s cabinet member for highways and transport, Cllr Neil Baker (Con), said: “I understand the news of the delay to our timeline for the A249 Grovehurst Road Improvement Scheme will be disappointing to many.

“The additional time that our traffic management has put on people’s journeys is something that we monitor very closely and keep under constant review.

“With a clearer timeline, we will be able to concentrate our efforts on making sure our project remains on track so the people living and working around the A249 can look forward to smoother and more reliable journeys.”

The scheme will use the existing bridge but will replace the dumbbell design with a new one-way gyratory system incorporating a second bridge.

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

The £32.7m revamp was given the green light by KCC in March 2022, with the majority of the money coming via a £38.1m grant from the government's Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF).

The project is hoped to help Swale council meet its housing targets.

There are plans for a new estate of 115 homes to be built near the Grovehurst roundabout to help “meet local housing needs”.

The development at Grovehurst Farm in Kemsley already has permission in principle.

The homes are among around 1,500 new houses due to be built in the northwest Sittingbourne area as per Swale council’s local plan.

Already 1,200 homes have been given the nod for farmland north of Quinton, between the Sittingbourne to Sheerness railway line and the A249.

However, the constant road closures while work takes place have been labelled as “beyond a joke”.

Cllr Roger Clark (Con) who represents Bobbing, Iwade and Lower Halstow on Swale council previously branded diversion routes in the area as “terrible” for his ward.

He added: "Although the roundabout is in desperate need of an update, the works are going to make it difficult for the people living in Iwade.”