Updated plans for the long-awaited upgrade to a crucial roundabout at a motorway junction have been released.

Highways England say work on the £100 million congestion-busting scheme at the Stockbury roundabout near Sittingbourne, which connects the A249 with the M2, is due to start in early 2020.

It will include a flyover on the A249 for through traffic heading to and from Maidstone.

The proposals have now been revised to include a new link south of the existing Oad Street to connect directly with the roundabout – rather than building a whole new road.

The existing connection from Maidstone Road to the roundabout is to be closed, and Maidstone Road would be re-routed to link with Oad Street.

The Honeycrock Hill junction with the A249 would be permanently shut for safety reasons.

A series of public exhibitions will be held later this year or early next year to show people how the works will impact them.

A Highways England spokesman could not confirm when or where they would be held as details were still being finalised.

It is hoped the changes will improve both journey times and safety on the route, one of the top 50 in the country for the number of accidents.

Between January 2011 and December 2015, there were 111 personal injury accidents, with nearly half occurring during the morning and evening peak travel periods.

It is understood, once the design work is finished, the planning process for the M2 junction 5 will follow.

After the public exhibitions, in early 2019, a series of traffic orders laying out what is going to happen to the road are to be published before construction starts in March 2020 with the new junction open to traffic by late autumn or early winter 2021.