Stockbury Roundabout and M2 junction 5 London-bound exit slip to close ahead of Flyover Project opening
More closures have been announced ahead of the opening of the Stockbury Flyover. It comes only days after the M2 Junction 5 coast-bound slip reopened on June 10, after almost a month of traffic chaos.
Drone pictures earlier this month revealed six-mile queues all the way from the M20 Junction 7 roundabout near Detling Hill to the Stockbury Roundabout.[1] Now National Highways has announced further overnight and weekend closures.
The company say it will be surfacing the Stockbury Roundabout during this month to "minimise disruption". In its latest update today (June 12), the firm says the Stockbury Roundabout and M2 junction 5 London-bound exit slip will be closed from:
8pm on Wednesday June 19, until 5am Thursday, June 20
8pm on Thursday June 20 until 5am Friday, June 21
8pm on Friday June 21 until 5am Monday, June 24 - which is a full weekend closure
During the closures, the dedicated slip roads to and from the M2 will remain open except for the M2 junction 5 London-bound exit slip, which will be fully closed. As part of these closures, there will also be no access to and from Oad Street from the Stockbury Roundabout.
Commuters will also face further delays to their journeys from tonight as the A249 maidstone-bound will be closed between the Bobbing and Stockbury Roundabouts from 8pm to 5am each night from June 12 until June 18. National Highways say these new closures are part of preparations for the carriageway ahead of the opening of the Stockbury flyover project in July. As a result, a diversion will be in place via Sheppey Way, A2, Hoath Way, and M2 J5.
Meanwhile, non-motorway traffic will have to use Sheppey Way, A2, A229, A249.
The M2 Junction 5 coast-bound slip road, along with a lane on the A249 Sheppey-bound from Stockbury Roundabout towards Key Street - reopened on Monday June 10 at 5am.
The improvements to M2 junction 5 have been ongoing since 2021. In April highway bosses confirmed, if all goes well, the GBP92 million Stockbury Flyover will be available to traffic in July.[2] National Highways' M2 Junction 5 project manager, Daniel Rollinson, said at the time: "Anybody who's driven through the scheme, particularly in the last nine to 12 months, would have seen a lot of change, specifically with the flyover itself.
"The flyover is now complete, so the retaining walls are done and we're just doing the curbing now and then we've got to actually build the road layers before it is available for traffic to use.
"We're aiming to open the flyover itself to traffic sort of July, early July to mid-July."
The scheme aims to make journeys easier and safer for motorists travelling between Maidstone, Sittingbourne and Sheppey on the A249. But, there are also further closures planned before the flyover opens in the summer. On Friday, July 5, Saturday, July 6 and Sunday, July 7, the A249 northbound between the Stockbury and Key Street Roundabouts will be closed from 8pm to 5am each night while we prepare for the opening of the Stockbury flyover later in July.
During the closure, a diversion will be in place via the M2, Hoath Way, A2, Sheppey Way and A249.
Non-motorway traffic please use the A249, A229, A2, Sheppey Way and A249.