Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Closures on ‘danger road’
A road dubbed one of the most dangerous in Britain is set to undergo months of safety revamps and resurfacing. Closures will be in place until early December along the notorious A290, which runs between Canterbury and Whitstable. The road has been the scene of multiple crashes in recent years and in 2019 was named in the top 10 persistently higher risk routes in the country by the Road Safety Foundation. In October 2015, 17-year-old passenger Danny Lee was killed in a crash on the A290 at Pean Hill. Two years earlier, Laurie Hazrati, 22, died in hospital 10 days after his Renault Clio crashed near Blean.
But up to £1.5million of funding from the Department for Transport’s safer roads fund will be spent on measures to improve safety - but the final cost is still being worked on.
Parts of the eight-mile road will be relined, including St Dunstan’s, and will have new cat’s eyes.
The pedestrian crossing on St Thomas’ Hill will be upgraded, with the central hatching removed and relined in some areas.
There will be a reduced speed limit in some areas and some side roads are set to have a new 20mph limit in the St Dunstan’s area.
Closures on the road were set to start on Tuesday (September 1) and will remain until December 8, between 8pm and 5am. Kent County Council, which is carrying out the improvements, has warned delays are likely and diversions will be in place. Gorrell councillor Chris Cornell (Lab) says the A290 is a “real accident black spot”.
“In the evening it is frequently badly lit with a number of tight turns and the tendency for many drivers to speed up on the section between Blean and Whitstable,” he said. Blean councillor Alex Ricketts, who was also involved in the consultation, said the road is “very dangerous” in parts and the work could save lives.
“If anything it is long overdue, and more is needed to protect road users,” he said.