A £2.5 million town centre bus hub is set to open on Easter Sunday.

The work in Gravesend is part of Kent County Council's project to improve the transport connections between rail, bus and bike in and around the Rathmore Road area.

From Easter Sunday, buses will start using the new areas in Garrick Street and Barrack Row.

There will be two stops for Fastrack services – buses between Dartford and Gravesham which use core express routes on which only Fastrack services are allowed to run – and the other five will be used for Arriva and RedRoute buses.

A Kent County Council spokesman said: "We are pleased to confirm that buses will start to use Gravesend Bus Hub from this weekend as operators get used to new timetables.

"Passengers and visitors to the new hub will continue to see contractors completing parts of the site before an official opening, which is planned for the summer months."

The improvements in Barrack Row and Garrick Street include:

• four new bus stops in Barrack Row

• more pedestrianised space and prioritized crossings

• new public toilets in Barrack Row, paid for and provided by Gravesham Borough Council

• two Fastrack stops and Sapphire service improvements in Garrick Street. Sapphire is Arriva's premium service with leather-style seats, free 4G wifi and USB charging points

• provision for an electric bus charging point

• new seating and bus canopies.

The work, carried out by FM Conway, on the new hub began on June 14.

It is the final phase of the Gravesend Transport Quarter master plan which has seen Community Square developed and the re-routing of the one-way system around Woodville Place and the re-routing of the one-way traffic system along a new Rathmore Road.