Major road rebuild set to end ahead of schedule

The council's contractor, GW Highways, described it as a "fully sustainable" solution

A major road in Kent is set to fully reopen eight weeks ahead of schedule after a £4.4m reconstruction project, the county council has said.

The A299 Thanet Way has been closed between the Whitstable junction and the Chestfield Tunnel since 15 April, with a contraflow system in place.

Kent County Council (KCC) said, weather permitting, the reconstructed stretch of the coastbound road would now open by 1 June.

Cabinet member for highways and transport Neil Baker said: “We have worked at pace to make sure the road surface is safe for the future.”

Elsewhere in Kent, work on the A249, will take six months longer than expected, due to "constraints on the traffic management" as well as the need to "remove trapped reptiles found on site".

But good weather, improved logistics, plus existing drainage being in a better condition than anticipated, were among the reasons for early completion of the A299, the authority said.

'Heave effect'

Mr Baker said the “regular closures needed to reduce [previous] road defects, which have caused the bumpy experience that plagued so many journeys, should be a thing of the past”.

The authority said the aim had been to improve and stabilise the underlying subsoil of the road and to stop the heave effect caused by the underlying clay.

Ground heave can happen when clay expands due to an increase in moisture levels, which can cause the road to swell, lift and crack, while shrinkage when the soil dries out also causes cracks.

It said specialist geotextile materials and different sized aggregates had been used to reinforce the initial underlying surface and multiple layers of asphalt would be laid on top before the road fully reopened.

Neil Huntington, civil and commercial director for the contractor GW Highways, described it as a “fully sustainable solution”.

He added: “With weather permitting we will be demobilising and handing back to the travelling public a new carriageway designed and installed for longevity… within budget and eight weeks early.”