Kent County Council (KCC) was successful in bidding for £4 million from the Department for Transport’s Challenge Fund, supported by an allocation of about £420,000 from KCC’s own road maintenance budget, which will be used to complete the works.
The ground below the coastbound A299 has expanded and contracted with hotter summers and wetter winters, meaning the road can be left bumpy as a result of the underlying soil growing and shrinking.
We will excavate the road to a significant depth and rebuild it with a much stronger construction, using specialist geotextile materials, different sized aggregates and multiple layers of asphalt.
While work is being carried out, part of the road will have to be closed but a contraflow system will be installed between the turn off for Whitstable and the Chestfield Tunnel to minimise disruption to the travelling public as much as possible.
“"...we have worked hard to come up with a way of doing this that minimises disruption to the travelling public as much as possible."”
KCC’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, Neil Baker said: “These extensive reconstruction works are essential if we are to continue to keep this road safe, and to minimise future disruption.
“We realise some will be inconvenienced by this planned maintenance, but we have worked hard to come up with a way of doing this that minimises disruption to the travelling public as much as possible.
“Once this essential maintenance is completed we are confident there will be a noticeable difference in the quality of the surface, which I know will be welcomed by all road users.”
Roads Minister, Guy Opperman said: "Motorists and roads users in Kent deserve safe, modern and smooth roads they can rely on. That’s why it’s great to see Kent County Council now invest £4 million from Government to resurface the A299 Thanet Way between Whitstable and the Chestfield Tunnel and tackle potholes.
“These improvements come on top of £135 million we’re investing to resurface roads all across Kent over the next 11 years, as we continue to put drivers back in the driving seat.”
Term Services Director at GW Highways, David Gibbins said: “We are delighted to be completing this reconstruction of the A299 Thanet Way on behalf of Kent County Council.
“Through this partnership we will be delivering the construction phase of the work and dealing with the underlying ground conditions to ensure journeys on this strategic route are smoother.”
Project Timeline and Traffic Management Plan
From Monday 11th March 2024 to the morning of Friday 29th March 2024
We will need to close the A299 in both directions overnight between Whitstable and Herne Bay while we upgrade the crossover point for the traffic that the contraflow is expected to handle. Traffic will be diverted on the A2990 between 8pm and 5am each night. Lane closures may be required during the daytime but this will be kept to a minimum.
From Friday 5th April 2024 to Saturday 13th April 2024
The London-bound A299 Thanet Way will be closed each night from 7pm to 7am to allow for the safe phased installation of the contraflow. A temporary 40mph speed limit will be in place 24 hours a day and lane closures may be required. Signed diversion routes will be installed and traffic travelling coastbound will be unaffected.
From Monday 15th April 2024 to Friday 12th July 2024
With the contraflow in place, reconstruction works will commence on the coastbound A299 Thanet Way.
From Friday 12th July 2024 to Saturday 20th July 2024
The London-bound A299 Thanet Way will be closed each night from 7pm to 7am to allow for the safe phased removal of the contraflow. A temporary 40mph speed limit will be in place 24 hours a day and lane closures may be required. Signed diversion routes will be installed and traffic travelling coastbound will be unaffected.
ENDS
Notes to editors
Why we are doing this
For several years, sections of the A299 Thanet Way have been impacted by undulations caused by ground movement in the underlying clay subsoil of the road. Hotter summers and wetter winters have led to an increase in this movement, causing the underlying soils to expand and contract.
Kent County Council has in recent years made efforts to address these undulations once they reach a hazardous level, through the renewal of the upper layers of the road surface, between 40mm and 150mm, dependent on the severity. Although these works resolve the immediate problem, they do not offer a long-term solution, as after a severe season of hot or wet weather the undulations can return. This method of managing these problems is costly to undertake on a reactive basis, with these repeat visits putting a financial strain on our budgets which are not viable to sustain.
During the last two years, Kent County Council has been proactive by carrying out deep ground investigations through various surveys and excavation of trial pits to record, photograph and take samples of the layers beneath the road. This information has been used to create the construction design we will be using to strengthen the A299.
Following the completion of these works, the structural integrity of the road will be far more resilient, reducing the need for reactive repairs, the associated frequent and disruptive traffic management and for improving the ride quality of Kent’s highway users.
