Kentish Express Ashford & District
Roadworks misery as traffic lights installed
Temporary traffic lights have been causing gridlock in Ashford this week - and the delays are expected to last until Monday.
The roadworks appeared on the A28 close to the Harvester in Kennington on Monday, sparking gridlock on one of the main routes into the town centre.
UK Power Networks is repairing an underground cable near the junction for the Longacres Garden Centre next to the M20 bridge.
Bosses say they hope to have the work completed by Monday and are manually operating the traffic lights to “minimise the impact”.
But on the Kentish Express Facebook page, drivers described rush-hour as “total gridlock” and a “nightmare”.
C a r o l i n e W a i n e said: “Whichever way you try to get out of Kennington it’s near impossible.”
Jeanette Brown said: “So there’s lights at Canterbury Road and Norman Road, there’s Outlet traffic chaos and Junction 10a too.
“It’s good old Ashford at its best.”
On Tuesday morning, queues were seen stretching as far back as the Julie Rose Stadium in Willesborough Road, while some drivers said it took 45 minutes to get from the Conningbrook Hotel to the town centre.
A UK Power Networks spokeswoman said: “Our engineers are carrying out repairs to an underground cable on the A28 in Kennington.
“For safety reasons temporary traffic lights are needed and are being manually operated to minimise the impact.
“We are aiming to complete our repairs as quickly and safely as possible and hope to have the work completed by Monday.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
Although bosses hope to complete the repair by Monday, a permit from Kent County Council will allow the traffic lights to stay in place until next Friday (January 24) if the work overruns.
Have you been held up in the disruption on the A28? Write to Kentish Express, Unit 4, Park Mall shopping centre, Ashford, TN24 8RY or email kentishexpress@ thekmgroup.co.uk