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A249 Key Street junction

We have been awarded £38.1 million from the Housing and Infrastructure Fund. This is to improve two A249 junctions west of Sittingbourne - A249 Key Street and A249 Grovehurst Road.

Our aim is to improve the junction for better walking and cycling options as well as relocating the existing A249 southbound entry slip lane to improve roundabout capacity.

What will change

Improvements to Key Street roundabout will include:

  • the closure of the existing A249 southbound exit slip road and the redirection of southbound traffic along Chestnut Street
  • the addition of a lane at the Chestnut Street roundabout arm
  • an additional left turn lane on the A2 Key Street arm approach
  • various capacity and safety improvements to the Keycol Hill arm
  • the installation of a new toucan crossing on the Sheppey Way roundabout arm to provide a safe crossing for pedestrians and cyclists.

Why we're making changes

Due to the congestion on the roads, alongside Highways England, we are dedicated to improving the safety in this area of development.

The improvement scheme will increase the road network's capacity. It will also provide the infrastructure for the housing plans in Swale's Local Plan. The housing plans are for 4,628 new homes on the A249 corridor, from the M2 junction to the Isle of Sheppey.

Traffic

We are responsible for all public roads in Kent, except motorways and trunk roads. Whilst National Highways look after the M2 and A249. All traffic management for the scheme and any emergency works needs approval from our Streetworks Team and National Highways.

We will limit all traffic management to off-peak hours, wherever we can. Especially at school pick-up and drop-off times and during rush hour. There may be times when this needs to change to allow our workers to be safe. All updates will be available in advance.

We understand your concerns about  large amount of roadworks taking place in Sittingbourne. Funding has been given to improve roads and reduce congestion in the town. to make these changes, we must provide safe working areas and put traffic management in place.

Chestnut Street

  • Traffic - all traffic impact is monitored, and diversions are put in place to support the local area
  • Parking - restrictions will be in place from the Key Street roundabout to the Tudor Rose public house
  • Pedestrian access - the pavement will be available during these works. After the works finish, pedestrians will not have access to cross the slip road. Pedestrian access will be available via a new footway and cycleway on the east side of Chestnut Street.

Wises Lane

We are not considering bringing in traffic calming measures during these works. If unsafe driving becomes an issue, find out how to request a change to the roads in this area.

Road closures and diversions

We hope to keep disruption to a minimum by carrying out the works in stages. We will monitor all traffic and diversion routes. If any issues do appear, we will review to reduce any problems.

Bobbing Hill will be closed for 72 days southbound only. Drivers travelling northbound will be diverted via Hill Farm View. Visit the roadworks map to view the diversion. Details of this closure will be sent to stakeholders with at least 14 days notice.

Latest updates

To keep you up to date with the latest changes, we will:

  • send monthly newsletters and emails to stakeholders
  • take part in drop-in sessions
  • update our webpage with the latest progress
  • send advanced notices of traffic managements as soon as we can.

Interested in receiving our newsletter and traffic management information? Email KeyStreet@jackson-civils.co.uk and we'll add you to our stakeholder mailing list.

Delays to the scheme works

During the planning of this scheme, it was never intended to happen at the same time as Grovehurst scheme. Unfortunately, the start of the Grovehurst scheme was delayed by 12 months. This was due to ongoing works at the Stockbury Roundabout (M2 Junction 5) by National Highways.

Due to the funding deadline of Grovehurst and Key Street set by Homes England, the works now overlap.

Current timescales

Key dates for Key Street are:

  • detailed design documents issued - completed May 2023
  • procurement - winter 2023
  • construction of Chestnut Street roundabout providing access to the Wises Lane development  (by others) - July 2024 to January 2025
  • contract award - completed October 2024
  • next stage of site clearance - completed October 2024
  • commence works - 27 January 2025
  • works completed - December 2025.

Night works

The following dates are not confirmed and are subject to change. All traffic management information will be shared with our stakeholder mailing list once confirmed.

To keep disruption to a minimum, we will be working in the night (8pm to 11pm) across 3 phases:

  • 2 nights for phase 1b during the first week of February 2025
  • 4 nights for phase 4 during the last week of May 2025
  • 18 nights of resurfacing for phase 11 during mid November 2025.

Other information about the scheme

Air pollution

The work on Key Street junction will reduce congestion and improve air quality.

Jackson, who is the contractor for the works, is playing its part in reducing air pollution by working within the requirements of the Considerate Constructors Scheme. Swale Borough Council is responsible for locating, monitoring, and helping to improve air quality in Swale. To find out more visit the Swale Borough Council website.

Removal of trees

To make space for the new roadwork, we had to remove some trees. The trees were removed under a Natural England Dormouse licence. An ecologist was present to watch for any issues. Additional dormouse habitats will be provided and improvements will be made to the retained habitat.

Formal decision

The approval to progress the scheme was taken by Kent County Council on 27 April 2020.

Traffic data

We have designed the scheme improvements with predicted traffic flow up to 2037. This includes any developments in the Swale Local Plan.

The cost

The £38.6m scheme cost for both Key Street and Grovehurst Road is funded by £38.1 million from the Housing Infrastructure Fund Grant along with £900,000 of developer contributions.

Scheme documents

Media releases

Funded by

The government Growth Deal provides money to the South East Local Enterprise Partnership, funding projects which drive Kent’s economic and business growth.