A busy A-road that’s one of the most well-used routes in and out of a town is to be closed yet again.

The A2 between the Key Street roundabout and Wises Lane, near the Long Hop pub in Sittingbourne, was shut due to emergency gas repairs over the weekend.

It comes after the gas distribution company, SGN, installed temporary two-way lights along the same stretch of the A2 last week.

It reopened before bank holiday Monday with temporary traffic lights, however, SGN has confirmed more closures are to come.

Waseem Hanif, a spokesperson for SGN, said: “We're carrying out emergency repairs to our gas network.

“For everyone's safety, we needed to close Key Street between the A249 and Wises Lane this past weekend.

“The road has since reopened, however, we will need to close it again today (May 28) to complete our repairs.

“A signed diversion will be in place for motorists. Repairs and the closure are likely to continue throughout this week, but it's too soon to say how long they will take to complete.

“We know this is a very busy location and our teams are working as quickly and safely as possible to complete our work.”

Those living in the area feel like they’re being “trapped” in the town especially as this isn’t the first time Key Street has been closed due to gas problems.

In January, the stretch of road by the Long Hop pub had a set of temporary lights installed by the Gas Transportation Company (GTC).

A month earlier, in December last year, SGN had to carry out urgent repairs due to a gas leak along the A2 at the same location and close part of the road fully for almost a month.

As a result Andria and Andy Matheou, who run the nearby Marino Fish Bar, said they saw their trade plummet.

After learning about the most recent closure on social media one person said: “It feels like they are trapping us in.”

One woman who lives nearby said: “It’s a total mess up around here.

“The new houses should never of been approved. We have this on going gas leak on Key Street then this week water problems were caused by the construction site.

“You can’t get out of Wises Lane from the top end as the road has been dug up.

“I hate living here with all the mess and wildlife being killed. They have ruined what was once a lovely town.”

Another said: “There's only one way out/in and that is heading towards Sittingbourne. God knows what Tuesday will bring.”

Someone else replied: “I think they are working on shutting Sittingbourne off from the rest of the county. If not, they are doing a good job already!”

It is understood that motorists cannot turn left out of Wises Lane towards Key Street roundabout, which has been dubbed as “mayhem roundabout” on Facebook, to get onto the A249.

Access is also only avaliable to residents from Key Street.

A KCC spokesperson said: “It’s understood SGN brought forward a planned road closure overnight for health and safety reasons as the company continues to carry out gas works in the area.

“Utility firms are allowed to make emergency closures if it’s considered necessary to protect drivers and residents. The companies are responsible for keeping communities informed and retrospectively notifying the relevant highway authority.”

When last week’s temporary traffic lights were installed motorists in the area said their “patience was being tested”.

Antonio Amadori, who lives in Bobbing, said the roadworks were “creating massive disruption and delays” in the area.

The 55-year-old careworker said: “It is shocking to see yet again a stupid pathetic hole in the road with no workers working on site.

“All week I have been driving through these alleged roadworks, to see only one person operating the temporary traffic lights, and on Friday (May 17) at 10am two others were sitting in a van reading newspapers!”

SGN was also contacted about this but did not respond to KentOnline’s query.