‘Sick to death of delays – is there no end to misery?’
Motorists face another four weeks of torment
Just as six months of gyratory roadworks came to an end in Maidstone, a key route out of the town has been hit by delays.
Four weeks of delays have started at Farleigh Hill in Tovil, with traffic lights controlling the flow of vehicles, while a new footpath is created between Burial Ground Lane and the Tovil Tesco store.
The construction of the footpath, where previously there was only a grassy bank, is being carried out by contractors for Fernham Homes.
It is building 27 new houses on land on the other side of Burial Ground Lane.
The footpath was a condition imposed by Maidstone council when it granted planning permission back in 2013.
But the delay on the B2010 which is used by many drivers from the south of Maidstone seeking to avoid the town centre by crossing the River Medway at either the East Farleigh or Teston bridges has raised eyebrows.
One resident complained on the social media site Streetlife: “Traffic queuing back to East Farleigh. Sick to death of delays and roadworks in Maidstone. Is there no end to this misery?”
As the KM reported last week, the gyratory over the River Medway was fully open on Thursday with traffic approaching from College Road now able to head straight-on towards Chatham at the bottom of the High Street.
The Tovil roadworks began while the bridges scheme was still being worked on.
When KCC’s project manager Russell Boorman first briefed the town on the gyratory roadworks, he promised there would be no other major work allowed on alternative routes at the same time. But that promise seems only to apply to works carried out by KCC itself.
Rebecca Edwards, the public liaison officer for Jacksons, the engineering company carrying out the gyratory project, said: “It is not something within our control.”