M2 junction 5 improvement scheme update from Highways England
Newington Parish Council
What we’ve done so far
Our compound is now finished, and we're busy making progress on the Maidstone Road and Oad Street link.
We closed a section of Oad Street at the end of April to allow us to prepare the area for the new links. During the closure, we’ve widened a section of the carriageway, installed new drainage and kerbing, and surfaced part of the road.
We've been given the opportunity to extend our closure to make further progress before our return in the autumn. We appreciate this closure has been extremely disruptive, and hope that by keeping the closure in place for longer now, we can cut down the length of our closure later in the year.
This means, we'll be extending the closure of Oad Street until 5am Monday 20 June. We’ll then reopen it for the summer, before closing it again in the autumn. Advanced notice will be provided ahead of the re-closure.
What’s happening over the next couple of months
Our piling work continues on the western verge of the A249 northbound, preparing for a retaining wall as part of the new link roads. Over the next few weeks, you’ll see work start on the roundabout, as well as a second location under the bridge.
Weekend closures for drainage work
As part of our preparation work for the new carriageways, we need to install drainage on the A249.
In order to do this safely, there will be closures the A249 southbound carriageway, from the Bobbing roundabout to north of the Stockbury roundabout.
We know there’s never a good time to close a busy road like the A249, so we’ll be using a mix of lane closures and full closures to minimise the impact, and reduce the amount of time the road is fully closed.
This work will start on Friday 10 June, running for three weekends.
10 to 13 June & 17 to 20 June
A lane will be closed on southbound A249 between the Bobbing and Stockbury roundabouts from 8pm this Friday (10 June) and next (17 June), with the stretch then fully closed between:
- 6am Saturday 11 June and 5am Monday 13 June
- 6am Saturday 18 June and 5am Monday 20 June.
24 to 27 June
For the third weekend, the southbound A249 between the Bobbing and Stockbury roundabouts with be closed between:
- 6am and 8pm on Saturday 25 June
- 6am and 8pm on Sunday 26 June
We’ll also have a lane closed on this stretch overnight (8pm to 6am) on Friday 24, Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 June. The road will be fully open by 5am on Monday 27 June.
You can find out more about the weekend closures, including diversion routes, on our webpage.
The temporary reduced speed limit of 30mph will remain in place on Maidstone Road during this work. Please take care when travelling through Danaway, and report any speeding or dangerous driving to the Police.
Come and meet the team
Starting on Wednesday 8 June, our team will be on hand at Oad Street Food and Crafts between 10am and midday. These sessions will then be held on the second Wednesday of the month. If you can’t make it and have a question, you can email us on [email protected] or call 0300 123 5000, and one of the team will be happy to help.
Contact Information
Highways England
- 0300 123 5000
Find Newington Parish Council
Newington, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME9 7JJ