Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Leader of council wants extra lanes on new link road
The proposed Sturry link road should be built with extra lanes to ensure it can cope with future traffic demands, says the city council leader.
Cllr Simon Cook has written to highways officials to urge them to make the viaduct over the railway line and the River Stour a dual carriageway.
Earlier this summer road planners revealed proposals for the £30m bypass, which is designed to ease the gridlock around the Sturry crossing and meet the needs of people who move into the 1,400 homes to be built in Sturry, Broad Oak and Hersden.
In a letter to Tim Read, head of transportation at Kent County Council, Cllr Cook insists this is a priority for the district.
The Conservative wrote: “It is very likely that in the foreseeable future it will be necessary to construct an eastern bypass around Canterbury to relieve through traffic on the ring road.
“This road would form part of this and would be extended to meet the A2 south of Canterbury.
“A bypass of this type would probably need to be a dual carriageway in each direction. The proposed link road is mostly designed for a single carriageway in each direction, with three lanes on the viaduct. Although it is relatively straightforward to widen a road, it is prohibitively expensive to widen a viaduct.
“I would therefore suggest in the strongest possible terms that you consider building the viaduct with four lanes to protect its future use. I would also suggest that you consider, where possible, maintaining ownership of a suitable width of verge on the link road that will allow it to be widened in future if necessary.”
Cllr Cook believes that if the dual carriageway idea is adopted by county hall, then it could reduce the effects of thousands of extra vehicle movements a day.
“Everyone who lives or works in and around Canterbury fully appreciates the strain on the road infrastructure and it is essential we don’t just plan for today, but for tomorrow and the longer future,” he wrote.
“When new roads are built, it is crucial they are constructed in such a way as to alleviate future traffic pressures, not just the ones we already have. There is an opportunity here for us to work with Kent County Council to make sure the proposed link road makes a real difference as part of a future, large-scale alteration to the traffic system locally.
“It may cost more in the shortterm, but that amount is relatively little compared to major expansion work in the future – expansion that, even if possible, could cause all sorts of delays and problems.”
Designed by KCC, the aim of the Sturry Link Road is to divert traffic heading to and from the new developments and Herne Bay around the level crossing.
It will start at a new junction on the A28 and head northwards across two arms of the Stour and over the railway line.
From the railway, the route would turn eastwards to connect back to the A291 at Sturry Hill.
A consultation on the KCC design ended last week. If progressed, a planning application is expected to be submitted in the next two months. Work could start in the spring of 2019 and be complete the following year.
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