SC23187 - Key Street Junction Improvements

Kent County Council (the Council) is the largest local authority in England covering an area of 3,500 square kilometres. It has an annual expenditure of over £1bn on goods and services and a population of 1.6m. The Council provides a wide range of personal and strategic services on behalf of its residents, operating in partnership with the NHS Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group, 12 district councils, and 289 parish/town councils. KCC consists of four directorates:

• Adult Social Care and Health;

• Children, Young People and Education;

• Growth, Environment and Transport; and

• Strategic and Corporate Services.

This service is being commissioned on behalf of the Major Capital Programme Team which sits within the Growth, Environment and Transport directorate.

The Key Street junction is located on the A249, to the north-east of the M2 Junction 5 heading towards the Isle of Sheppey.

The A249 Key Street junction is a two-bridge oval shaped roundabout junction with slip roads on the southern side and connections to the A249, A2 Keycol Hill, Bobbing Hill, Sheppey Way and Chestnut Street. It serves the A2, village communities, and Sittingbourne town centre.

Road users currently using the Key Street junction often experience high volumes of traffic, which results in significant vehicle queues and congestion. The volume of traffic at these junctions is expected to increase as a result of future growth in the surrounding area, which is set out in the local plan. KCC is proposing improvements to this junction through this project to reduce the impact of future growth, reduce congestion and address air quality issues.

The Council has also previously procured improvement works for the adjacent Grovehurst Road Junction; works are expected to be completed by September 2024.