Maidstone’s Coldharbour Roundabout upgrade: Seven weeks of overnight closures for final road surfacing
Published: 17:13, 04 October 2024
A major roundabout will be shut overnight for up to seven weeks for final surfacing works.
The Coldharbour Roundabout on the A20 near Maidstone is nearing the end of its £5m upgrade.
Contractors Breheny says “significant progress” has been made so far on the project, which first started in February.
Kent County Council (KCC) believes it will help reduce congestion and improve air quality, and provide capacity to accommodate further housing development.
Motorists can now drive freely on the newly expanded roundabout after additional lanes were added.
A final full overnight closure is set to begin on Monday (October 7) and will be in place until November 25.
It will allow for the finishing of surfacing on the roundabout, an “anti-skid” high friction surfacing approaching the junction and new line marking.
The roadworks will happen between 8pm and 6am, on weekdays only.
Several diversion routes have been set up, depending on what way drivers are coming from. They will be displayed via electronic signs on all sides of the roundabout as well as online.
A previous overnight closure was put in place during July but was soon announced that workers had finished a week ahead of schedule.
Within the next month, fence installations will take place, along with new signs, street lights and landscaping.
Seeds are being scattered along the verge next to the road and tree planting will begin in November.
In March, people expressed their shock after all of the foliage in the area was removed to make way for the expansion.
A second diversion will be in place for pedestrians from Thursday, November 7 until Sunday 10 so that engineers can complete the southern footpath.
It is understood adjustments to the flow of traffic will be made during this time.
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Cara Simmonds