Motorists can anticipate six weeks of delays and frustration when a key road is closed for repairs.

Kent County Council plans to shut the A274 Sutton Road to the south of Maidstone to carry out repair and maintenance on its drains.

The road will be closed to all traffic between Horseshoes Lane by The Potting Shed pub and the junction with the B2163 Leeds Road at The Plough.

The A274 is the key route between Maidstone and Headcorn and used by thousands of motorists every day.

The closure will start on February 6 and is scheduled to finish by March 17. It will include school term-time.

The diversion will take motorists back along Sutton Road to the Wheatsheaf, then along the A229 Loose Road to Linton Crossroads and Heath Road back to the A274 (or vice versa).

The closure has dismayed the North Loose Residents Association, which fears the effect of the already busy A229 Loose Road being expected to cope with double the usual amount of traffic.

Chairman Sean Carter said: “Six weeks is one heck of a long time.

“The Loose Road is already at full capacity. Obviously this is going to put it under enormous pressure.

“I think there is a bigger question here.

“Lately whenever there is work to be done, we’ve seen utility companies and KCC very keen to immediately close the road instead of considering whether the work could be managed with a lane-closure and traffic management.

“Of course that would still mean delays, but it would have a less wide-ranging effect.

“I really think that before the highways authority grants road closure licences to the utility companies, or embarks on work itself, there should be a much more thorough assessment of the costs to the economy.

“There will be businessmen unable to get to meetings, deliveries missed, and all the hours wasted by drivers sitting in the queues.

“The way these things are tackled needs a complete rethink.”

KCC said it was necessary to close the A274 during the repairs “for safety reasons”.

Meanwhile, Leeds villagers are already experiencing the delights of road closures – again.

The B2173, Upper Street, the main road through the village, is closed while SGN carries out emergency repairs following a gas leak. The closure is expected to stay in place until January 29.

The official diversion is back along Sutton Road, down Willington Street and along the A20 Ashford Road, or vice versa, a distance of 9.3 miles.

It comes only three months after the same road was shut for 10 weeks while South East Water laid new water pipes through the village.

That closure also saw seven other minor roads in the area being closed in an attempt to stop traffic rat-running around the closure instead of taking the diversion.

Those subsidiary closures have not been put in place this time for the emergency closure, but by coincidence the nearby Gravelly Bottom Road is also closed until January 26.

That is because KCC is also carrying out drainage repair work there.

Nicky Swift has lived in the road for 17 years. She said: “There are just constant closures here.

“KCC have to do this work every year because the problem with water flowing down the road never seems to get sorted properly. Whatever they do now, we know they will be back next year.

“Meanwhile, we haven't had our bins emptied for two weeks because the bin lorry can’t reach us.

“I would move tomorrow, but it’s difficult to know where would be better. Perhaps abroad?”

Norman Kemp, the owner of Nu Venture buses, said the Leeds road closure was having an effect on services.

He said: “The 13 and 14 bus services which we operate there are again unable to serve their full route and Hollingbourne and Leeds are bus-less until the scheduled end-date of January 29.

“As regards the scheduled closure of the A274, we don't yet know what we are going to do. We are talking to KCC over that.”

For further information on the road closures check the One-Network road closures map.

Or call KCC on 03000 418181.