Bean Road Fastrack Scheme
Bean Road Underpass (formerly known as Bean Road Tunnel) is a major civil infrastructure scheme to provide a Fastrack busway and a footway/cycleway linking Whitecliffe and Bluewater.
Why we're making changes
The Ebbsfleet area is due for significant growth in the coming years and with current levels of traffic congestion considered to be at critical levels already.
Fastrack is central to supporting the growth agenda encouraging sustainable transport use.
The objectives of this scheme are to:
- provide direct access for Fastrack buses, pedestrians and cyclists between Whitecliffe and Bluewater Shopping Centre
- improve pedestrian and cycle facilities to Bluewater Shopping Centre
- improve the existing transport provision via sustainable modes, including the use of fully electric buses which are currently being rolled out from April 2025, making Fastrack a fully zero emission operation.
What will change
The scheme will construct a new tunnel through the chalk spine under the B255 Bean Road between Bluewater Shopping Centre and the Whitecliffe development. It will directly connect the centre to the new Ebbsfleet housing developments and Ebbsfleet International Railway Station. It will form part of the Fastrack bus rapid transit system within Dartford and Gravesham.
The tunnel will house a 3.5 metre wide single way Fastrack busway, as well as providing a shared use footway and cycleway.
Latest updates
Planning permission for the scheme was granted on 6 March 2025, with the relevant planning conditions now under formal review before starting the main works.
We have appointed Erith Contractors Limited as principal contractor to deliver the Bean Road Underpass on our behalf. An updated programme for construction is being produced. We expect the main works will begin in spring 2026 and be completed in summer 2027.
Additional funding has been made available through the Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) tranche 2 from the Department for Transport (DfT).
Clearance of the site and survey works will take place between January and May 2026. During this time, a series of phased temporary traffic management will be in place along the B255 Bean Road to ensure this work can be carried out safely and efficiently.
Newsletter
- Issue 4 - May 2026 (PDF, 438.4 KB)
- Issue 3 - April 2026 (PDF, 340.7 KB)
- Issue 2 - March 2026 (PDF, 359.2 KB)
- Issue 1 - February 2026 (PDF, 484.3 KB)
Scheme documents
View the scheme plan and the latest planning application for the Bean Road Tunnel.
Scheme cost
The original total scheme budget in 2018 for Bean Road Tunnel was £13 million, which has now risen to £25.5 million due to a significant increase in costs following the coronavirus pandemic and unforeseen increases in the price of materials, compounded by the war in Ukraine, inflation and higher interest rates.
The funding for the Bean Road underpass project comes from specific allocations from the Department for Transport and partners, and is tied to Kent’s Bus Service Improvement Plan. This funding can only be used for bus infrastructure projects like Fastrack - it cannot legally be diverted to other road schemes.
We cannot delay or cancel projects that already have secured, ring-fenced funding. Doing so would mean losing investment that benefits sustainable transport and connectivity across Kent.
Formal decisions
The approval to progress the Bean Road Tunnel Scheme was taken by Kent County Council on 29 July 2019, with a formal decision update approved on 2 September 2024.
