Summary

  1. Thank you and goodbyepublished at 15:54 British Summer Time

    That's all for today. Thank you for joining our live coverage and for sharing your views on roadworks across the South East.

    You can keep sharing your stories about roadworks and other topics by WhatsApp, external on 08081 002250 or by emailing us at southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk.

  2. 'Roadworks are a necessary evil'published at 15:39 British Summer Time

    Peter Sullivan, from Kingswood in Surrey, said he thought people were "all aware that roadworks are a necessary evil".

    He added: "The issue here is that councils, utility companies and developers appear to dig up the same stretch of road consecutively instead of working cooperatively and digging it up once."

  3. 'Many say its the worst road in Kent'published at 15:20 British Summer Time

    We have been hearing from some of you sharing your concerns about roadworks across the region.

    Kim Klein said she travelled along the A228 in Strood every day for 10 years but "finally gave up the time consuming journeys" due to roadworks.

    She said: "With roadworks the journey from Snodland to the M2 junction can take more than 30 minutes when without them it is 10 minutes at most.

    "Many people state this is the worst road in the whole of Kent."

    Have you got roadwork woes you want to share? You can WhatsApp, external us on 08081 002250 or email us at southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk.

  4. 'Can’t seem to get through' Sittingbourne workspublished at 14:46 British Summer Time

    Liz Saul
    BBC Radio Kent in Sittingbourne

    Mary Goodger told reporter Liz Saul in Sittingbourne that roadworks in the area meant she has “late to work a few times” after being stuck in congestion.

    “I live five minutes from where I work and it has been taking me half an hour at least to get there most mornings,” she said.

    She added: “There’s different sets of miniature roadwork lights that go up every week. Come out of one turning and they’re there again.

    “You just can’t seem to be able to get through them.”

  5. A249 roadworks causing caravan 'hassles'published at 14:43 British Summer Time

    Liz Saul
    BBC Radio Kent in Sittingbourne

    A man wearing a knitted jumper and sunglasses stood in a grassy car park. There are white buildings in the background.Image source, Liz Saul/BBC
    Image caption,

    Robert Macdonald says diversions due to A249 roadworks cause “so many hassles” with his caravan

    In Sittingbourne, people have been telling reporter Liz Saul about the traffic issues local roadworks are causing.

    Robert Macdonald told BBC Radio Kent roadworks on the A249 have caused him “so many hassles” with his caravan.

    Drivers using satnav “eventually have to stop, turn around, and reverse” when they come across road closures, Mr Macdonald added.

  6. Roadworks make carer late for clientspublished at 14:32 British Summer Time

    Claudia Sermbezis
    Reporter, BBC South East Today

    Chloe Webb is a carer from Tunbridge Wells in Kent.

    She relies on her car to get to her clients' homes, but is finding this difficult due to roadworks.

    "Sometimes the roadworks have meant that I'm over 35 minutes late to my clients" she said.

    Chloe Webb stands in front of her car in a road in Tunbridge WellsImage source, BBC/Claudia Sermbezis
  7. 'Never mind the pavement, fix the loos!'published at 13:47 British Summer Time

    Media caption,

    There's mixed feelings in Canterbury as we ask is the pain worth the gain?

  8. Have you been affected by roadworks?published at 13:30 British Summer Time

    QR code for BBC South East

    We want to hear your stories on how roadworks are in your part of Kent, Sussex or Surrey.

    Are they getting worse? Or perhaps you think they a vital and necessary part of modern life.

    You can WhatsApp, external us on 08081 002250, use the QR code above or email us at southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk

  9. ‘Covid all over again’published at 13:21 British Summer Time

    A man and a woman stand outside a white pub building. The pub has a red and gold sign reading The Hare & Hounds and picnic benches outside.Image source, Julia Gregory/BBC
    Image caption,

    Mark and Alison Cullinan runs The Hare & Hounds pub near the Godstone sinkhole

    Returning to Godstone, Surrey, where the High Street remains closed following a sinkhole opening up in the road in February.

    Mark Cullinan runs The Hare & Hounds pub, near the sinkhole. He told BBC Radio Surrey that his trade is down by at least 40% compared to 2024.

    “It’s like Covid all over again. You’re just thinking ‘when is it going to end?’,” he said.

    “I know a lot of the local people are saying it’s quite nice that some of the traffic doesn’t come through the village, but it doesn’t help everybody else and it doesn’t help the trade.”

  10. Calls for improved management of roadworkspublished at 13:00 British Summer Time

    A red road sign which reads: "When red light shows wait here." Beyond it is a set of temporary traffic lights and a traffic cone.

    In April, we reported that Surrey County Council, National Highways and six utility providers had written to the Department for Transport about improving the digital service used across England to manage roadworks.

    Matt Furniss, Surrey’s cabinet member for highways, said utility companies' demands in Surrey were amongst the top five highest in the UK.

    He said: “Whilst we recognise that works on the highway carried out by utility companies are necessary, these works are all too often impacting negatively on Surrey road users."

    You can read more here

  11. 'We are often late to calls'published at 12:44 British Summer Time

    Five road works signs on top of eachother.Image source, Getty Images

    A home care worker from the Guildford area says her service has been hit in the past by roadworks in county.

    Jan Mobbs said: "The roadworks have meant that we are often late to calls, which means the clients are not having important medication at the correct time.

    "They can become stressed from not having their call at the expected time. This then has a knock on effect for later calls to other clients, which is definitely not the service we like to give."

    Ms Mobbs also says new roadworks are "too frequent".

  12. 'I struggle to get into work on time'published at 12:29 British Summer Time

    A woman says roadworks caused by the Queensway Gateway Road project in East Sussex are making it a struggle for her and her colleagues to reach work every day.

    Victoria told BBC Radio Sussex that they have to leave "substantially earlier" each morning due to the project.

    "Usually, the time I am hitting there [the road], it is chockablock traffic."

    The project in Hastings was originally expected to be completed in 2016.

  13. Family 'angry' at A21 roadworkspublished at 12:12 British Summer Time

    A woman says her family is being impacted "quite a lot" by roadworks on the A21 in Hastings.

    Tony told BBC Radio Sussex the work was adding half an hour onto the daily school run, which was "eating petrol" and forcing them all to wake up much earlier.

    A man who was with her added the family were "stressed" and "angry" about the situation.

    The Queensway Gateway Road project in Hastings was originally expected to be completed in 2016.

    East Sussex Highways said in April the scheme had made good progress, despite what it called "technical challenges".

    Read more on this story here.

    A map of the roadworks site on the A21 in HastingsImage source, East Sussex Highways
  14. A27 works to finish ahead of schedule - agencypublished at 12:05 British Summer Time

    Maintenance work on the A27 near Brighton is due to finish ahead of schedule, says National Highways.

    The government agency previously said it needed to do drainage, barrier replacement and resurfacing works between the Patcham Interchange and A27 Lewes Road.

    "Works have progressed well," it wrote online. "We're now due to finish ahead of the original published date of 6 June."

  15. Impact of roadworks on businessespublished at 11:59 British Summer Time

    A metal fence with a sign attached which says "construction site" and has a yellow warning triangle on it. In the background there are shop fronts seen through the fencing.Image source, George Carden/BBC
    Image caption,

    Some businesses in Terminus Road, Eastbourne, are calling for roadworks to be paused over the summer

    Some businesses in Terminus Road, Eastbourne, are calling for roadworks to be paused over the summer due to fears of their impact they could have on trade.

    Works to pedestrianise the road, with an estimated completion date of December, are being paid for by a £19.8m grant from the government's Levelling Up Fund.

    While some traders raised concerns about the impact on the town during its busy summer months, others said works should continue and be completed as quickly as possible.

    You can read more here

  16. Firms charged more to work at certain timespublished at 11:38 British Summer Time

    A hole in the road which has a blue plastic piping visible inside it. Surrounding the hole is metal fencing and low orange and white plastic bollards while the edge of a pavement is also seen at the top of the image.Image source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    East Sussex County Council says contractors and utility companies will be charged more to work on the busiest roads during peak times

    East Sussex County Council has announced a scheme to charge more to contractors and utility companies working on the busiest roads during peak times.

    The council says its Lane Rental Scheme aims to encourage work to be done outside of peak hours and for those working on the roads to find more efficient ways of finishing the job.

    Genuine emergency work that must be carried out during peak times will not be charged under the new scheme for 48 hours from when it begins, the council said.

    You can read more here

  17. Why is Godstone High Street still closed?published at 11:22 British Summer Time

    A red road closed sign and two yellow information signs in front of red, plastic barriers and grey, temporary fences at a construction site in on a residential street.Image source, Julia Gregory/BBC
    Image caption,

    Part of Godstone High Street remains closed

    Why not fill the sinkhole in so that cars can drive over it?

    Surrey County Council’s infrastructure team manager, Lloyd Allen, gave reporter Julia Gregory his answer earlier.

    He says filling in part of the road to allow traffic to use it would leave his team unable to reconnect utilities that have been disconnected for safety reasons, as well as hampering workers’ investigations at the site.

    “We still don't know the effects that the water, when the mains burst, had to the underlying soil conditions,” he added.

  18. ‘We don't know what's happening underneath’published at 11:13 British Summer Time

    A man in an orange high-vis jacket and a white hard hat is stood beside an excavated hole. The hole is blocked with red construction barriers and is situated next to brick houses.Image source, Julia Gregory/BBC
    Image caption,

    Lloyd Allen's team at Surrey County Council is still investigating the cause of the Godstone sinkhole

    Part of Godstone High Street remains closed after a sinkhole opened up in February, forcing an evacuation of around 30 nearby homes.

    Surrey County Council’s infrastructure team manager, Lloyd Allen, tells BBC Radio Surrey his team’s investigation of the sinkhole is still ongoing.

    The sinkhole is roughly three metres deep, but is “potentially formed by tunnels under the road” that could be as deep as 12m, he said.

    “The visual appearance of the hole is quite large, but we don't know what's happening underneath that.”

    He says he still cannot commit to a date when the roadworks will be complete.

    “If we find a geological problem we have got to fix then that could extend that period of time, so I'm not giving out an end date at the moment,” he says.

    Investigations into the cause of the sinkhole are ongoing.

  19. Works continue on M25's busiest sectionpublished at 11:00 British Summer Time

    An aerial view of junction 10 where the M25 meets the A3. There are bridges over the road and cars queuing at different parts of the junction. Works are going on around the edge of the road with piles of earth seen and construction vehicles.Image source, PA Media
    Image caption,

    Works on the M25 will aim to cut congestion at junction 10 with the A3

    The busiest section of the M25, at junction 10 where the motorway meets the A3 at Wisley, has been the site of full road closures since March 2024.

    National Highways said more than 300,000 vehicles travelled through the junction every day and the £317m project will add extra lanes to improve safety and cut congestion.

    TV presenter Alan Titchmarsh previously called for the Royal Horticultural Society to be compensated for losses during the A3/M25 roadworks, which are near to its Wisley Gardens.

    While there will not be any more full closures of the M25, the junction will be closed between 16 and 19 May for more works to take place.

  20. Big projects to look out forpublished at 10:52 British Summer Time

    A roadworks sign which is a red triangle with a stick figure inside digging from a pile of earth. In the background there are trees and the sky visible.
    Image caption,

    Roadworks in towns across the South East could impact on residents

    There are some large roadworks coming to towns across the South East which may impact on residents.

    Essential gas works by SGN will be done in two phases in Tunbridge Wells, and started on Monday. They are expected to last for about five months as 3.5km (2.2 miles) of gas mains are replaced.

    While SES Water is replacing water mains on one road between Redhill and Reigate, which could see the road closed until June.

    One resident said the work has left him unable to go out, and others shared their mixed reactions with BBC Radio Surrey.

    Media caption,

    There are mixed opinions from residents of one Redhill route that's closed until June.