We’ve waited long enough for queues to end

From today (Thursday) thousands of motorists who endure daily queues of traffic on the A249 can now study the detail of how Highways England intends to revamp the Stockbury roundabout.

For years, people heading to and from Maidstone, the M20 and M2, plus Sheppey and in Sittingbourne have had to sit in long tailbacks that can stretch to at least two miles at peak times, with cars queueing back along A roads.

And we’ve got to the point where there doesn’t seem to be much respite, even during the summer holidays.

So now comes the chance to consider whether the solutions proposed really will be congestion-busting.

A flyover which many had called for to stop traffic getting snarled up at the roundabout has already been ditched for costing too much.

At first glance there also doesn’t appear to be any thought about changes to the junction with the M20 at the bottom of Detling Hill to prevent that queue from just getting longer and longer.

However this is something that is proposed to be tackled with money from developers who are moving into the Kent Medical Campus at Junction 7.

So there are still lots of questions and more work to be done. But one thing we can say with certainty – make sure you all have your say.

It’s about time we get this sorted. After all, we’ve waited long enough for Highways England to take this seriously.