Elimination of south east England’s nastiest pinch point – the A21 between Tonbridge and Pembury in Kent – came a step closer last weekend, with a public exhibition before start of works.

The single carriageway road sits between two sections of dual carriageway and, carrying 35,000 vehicles per day, is both congested and accident prone. The exhibition provided road users, business owners and local residents with information about a £70M upgrade, on which construction will begin next spring and complete late 2016.

Improvements to the notorious stretch of road have been long awaited. “If upgrading the single carriageway had been easy, we’d have done it already,” said the Highways Agency’s Graham Link.

“Funding issues, ecological constraints and getting the right solution for traffic and the environment have slowed progress. But we’re here now and it’s full speed ahead.”

Main contractor for the design and build project is Balfour Beatty. “Design is in the final stages of development,” said the company’s project manager Richard Turnbull. “At 4.1km long, the site’s footprint is small but the job is high profile. Traffic management is going to be a challenge during construction.”

The Highways Agency has an iron clad case to carry out the works, which incorporates extensive measures to reduce impact on animals and ancient woodland. The project’s benefit cost ratio is 3.49, which means the works represent “good value for money,” according to the agency’s traffic consultant Atkins.

(Photo: Highways Agency)

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