A228 Mereworth Widening Project Approved at £1.3M to Boost Safety

Road work starts next month. It will cost £1.3 million. They will widen a busy road. This aims to improve safety and stop speeding. Work begins in late March, focusing on Kent Street where it meets the A228.

Cllrs Hudson and Boughton pushed for this, following years of campaigning by locals and councillors. Traffic lights will be installed 100m from the junction on each side. A girl got hurt there four years ago.

That accident spurred Cllr Hudson to seek solutions. Plans include widening Kent Street’s entrance and adding bus stops on both sides. The A228 carries much traffic, connecting to the M20 highway.

These changes aim to improve safety, with the project costing about £1.3 million total. Developers provided money from past projects, and Kent County Council contributed £300,000. The budget covers all costs, including risk and extra funds. Existing contracts also lower cost risks.

Funds must be used for the A228 and the developer money, from about fifteen years ago, must be spent soon.

Lorry driver Graham George, a Kent Street resident, said the project needs to happen. Cllr Baker supported the road improvements, noting that traffic used to crash there regularly, although the speed limit is now 40mph.

Kent Street is hard to exit at times. Hedgerows have already been cut back as the first project phase. Phase two runs from March 31 to June 22, while phase three starts September 22 and ends November 30 to avoid the fruit harvest.

Cllr Rayner has worked on this since 1985. He said it took forty years to reach this point and is very happy about the progress, deeming it absolutely necessary.

Cllr Baker approved the project and favors Cllr Hudson’s A228 plan. Cllr Boughton also supports improvements.