Highways England has opened its second public consultation into a proposed £125 million upgrade for two busy junctions along the A2.

The government agency, which is undertaking the survey, opened the consultation yesterday at Heritage Community Hall in Swanscombe.

Highways England is holding a series of public information exhibitions, up until Sunday, April 4, to provide people with the opportunity to view a proposed scheme to provide additional capacity on the dual carriageway’s junctions at Bean and Ebbsfleet.

The scheme, which is jointly funded by the Department for Transport, with contributions from the Kent Thameside Strategic Transport Programme, and the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, aims to smooth traffic flow, improve journey times and increase safety, at the junctions.

At the Bean junction, Highways England proposes to retain the existing layout with the current roundabouts enlarged and controlled by traffic lights, along with a new bridge over the A2 for southbound traffic and a new slip road on to the A2 for eastbound traffic.

At the Ebbsfleet junction the proposals will enlarge the current roundabouts controlled by traffic lights while the road between the roundabouts will be widened to a dual carriageway.

The slip roads from the A2 will be retained and the slip roads to the A2 widened.

Highways England senior project manager, Brian Gash said: “Bean and Ebbsfleet junctions serve Bluewater, Ebbsfleet International station and soon the new Garden City and these vital upgrades will help to make sure that the A2 stays fit for the future opportunities coming to Kent.

“Demand is expected to grow by up to 200 per cent by 2027, so it is vital that the final proposals we end up taking forward for planning permission are the best we can possibly make them. People’s input into the consultation will help us make sure that they are.

“There are important decisions still to be made about each junction, so I’d encourage anyone with an interest to get involved.”

Ian Piper, chief executive of Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, said: “With up to 15,000 new homes in Ebbsfleet Garden City, it is important that local infrastructure is improved to accommodate this growth.

“With our support for the proposed scheme for the two A2 junctions and a commitment from us to improve public transport in the area through a new and upgraded Fastrack service, we are investing to ensure traffic continues to flow.”

The announcement of a second consultation comes after Highways England held a previous one between from January to March.

Subject to planning permission the scheme is scheduled to open in 2022 and 2023.

The public exhibitions are on Saturday, February 24, from 10am to 3pm at Bean Youth and Community Centre, in the High Street, Dartford; Saturday, March 3, from 9am to 9pm at Bluewater Shopping Centre, Dartford; Saturday, March 10, from 10am to 3pm at Eastgate, Springhead Parkway, Northfleet; Thursday, March 25, from 7am to 9am and 3pm to 7pm at Ebbsfleet International Station, Dartford and Saturday, March 17, from 10am to 2pm at Stone Pavilion, Hayes Road, Stone.