Construction on a multi-million pound road project has already been pushed back by transport bosses – despite not even starting.

Kent County Council (KCC) expected to begin work on £199 million upgrades to roundabouts on the A229 at Blue Bell Hill, between Maidstone and Medway, in 2024.

Although it was not finalised, the construction date has now been pushed back to 2027, with completion three years later – before the opening of the Lower Thames Crossing.

KCC is in the process of submitting its business case to the government for funding approval and will have to wait about six months before it knows if it can continue with the project.

The £199m scheme looks to revamp the roundabouts on the A229 at the M2 junction 3 and M20 junction 6 to tackle traffic issues and improve journey time and road safety.

It will allow the road to accommodate an increase in future congestion, expected due to the Lower Thames Crossing and other proposed housing developments.

Since being announced in September 2020, a public consultation has been held asking for feedback on three design options and following this one was dropped from the proposals.

The first design includes upgrading the Lord Lees and Taddington roundabouts at the M2 junction and removing the link between the Bridgewood and Lord Lees roundabouts.

A direct slip road between the A229 and the M2 towards London is proposed, a through lane from the coastbound M2 to the A229 as well as creating a separate left-turn lane from the M2 to the A229 and widening the link road to four lanes.

Changes have also been proposed at the Maidstone end including a two-lane slip road to join the coastbound M20, widening the Running Horse roundabout and adding traffic lights.

The second option proposes less work to the Lord Lees and Taddington roundabouts – but keeping the new London-bound slip road from the A229 and left-turn lane from the M2 – and a proposal to extend the Bridgewood roundabout and Rochester Road junction with a new slip road from the M2 which would continue straight onto the A229.

It would also see the south-bound slip road on the A229 to the Lord Lees roundabout closed with a new merge road creating access to the roundabout.

At the Maidstone end, option two would be the same as proposals under option one.

The scheme is still in the early phases of development but a spokesman for KCC confirmed it was in the process of sending further details to the Department for Transport (DfT).

The statement read: "We are preparing to submit some more information to the DfT, which they need to have to be able to make a decision on the business case.

"We hope to have an answer from the DfT in time for summer 2023.

"Unfortunately, KCC is not able to provide further details on the business case at this particular stage."

If the bid is successful the council will need to submit more detailed developments of the design and establish a preferred proposal, come to an agreement on funding and secure planning consent.

The project is expected to cost up to £199m, with 85% of the total hopefully funded by the Department for Transport Major Road Network programme.

The remainder will be covered from developer contributions and other government funding opportunities.

Blue Bell Hill is one of the busiest roads in the county with more than 68,000 vehicles using it every day.

There was traffic chaos last month as parts of the road were closed for around five-and-a-half weeks for gas works.

The junctions are often overloaded with traffic and KCC expects to see more than 62,000 new homes in Medway, Maidstone and Tonbridge and Malling built by 2031.

The council also anticipates the new Lower Thames Crossing, while taking traffic away from Dartford, will increase the demand on Blue Bell Hill by 1,000 vehicles per day.