Quiet start to 22 weeks of misery as drivers stay away
No work on gyratory system during rush hour
The much talked about roadworks designed to improve Maidstone’s gyratory system got off to a quiet start this week.
Monday marked the first day of the £5.7m project, which was also greeted with low numbers of cars on the road – possibly as some people stayed away from the centre of town.
Work will only start each day after 9.30am and will not be completed until at least November.
The project will see two new lanes created to enable drivers using the A229 towards Blue Bell Hill and Chatham to avoid the bridge system, which currently links several main routes – the A20, A26, A229 and A249.
Phase 1 (the first six weeks) will involve electrical works, including temporarily moving street lights and traffic lights and working on the substation in the middle of the gyratory.
It will also see traffic islands removed and the subways blocked as well as the widening of Fairmeadow.
This week, highways workers could be seen next to the river, near the clocktower and cones had sealed off one lane over the bridge.
Despite this, traffic has been running well with no major hold-ups. Arriva buses tweeted to say all services were operational with “short delays” as traffic built into town.
Lane closures will be in place during the construction but drivers will still be able to travel round the one-way system.
The idea of changing the gyratory is to ease congestion in the town centre, with council bosses hoping the new road layout will shave 74 seconds off journey times along the A20 Broadway and A229 Bishops Way.
Kent County Council said employees will be working 12-hour shifts from Monday to Sunday with some overnight work taking place.
But there will be no work Monday to Friday between 7.30am and 9.30am and 4pm to 6pm to avoid clogging up the roads even more during rush hour.
There will also be no work on Friday or Saturday evenings.
The work will stop in midNovember and continue in midJanuary if it is not completed by then.
From mid-July the next phase will see Fairmeadow widened along the stretch with Medway Street and the subways filled in.
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