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A brand new flyover, built as part of a major upgrade on the A21 in Kent has now been opened.
The work is part of a project to upgrade the A21 between Tonbridge and Pembury to a new dual carriageway, speeding up journeys and boosting the economy.
Drivers using the A21 through the Longfield junction will no longer need to stop at the old Longfield roundabout as the new flyover partially opens, with one lane open in each direction. It is the latest in a series of milestones achieved by the Highways England-led project team in recent months, and follows the reopening of Tonbridge Road in April and moving traffic on to new structures near Fairthorne village in June.
Highways England Project Manager Anne-Marie Palmer said:
Over the last few months we’ve made real progress with the construction of the new flyovers at Fairthorne and Longfield Road. Opening the new flyover at the Longfield Road junction will reduce congestion by removing the need for drivers continuing on the A21 to stop at the old Longfield roundabout. Later this summer we will be opening both lanes of the dual carriageway, which is when the benefits of this major improvement will really be noticed.
Earlier this year, Tonbridge Road reopened to traffic between the Longfield junction and Pembury hospital. The bridge at the new Fairthorne junction partially opened in June allowing construction of the new access road for residents along Pembury Walks and Half Moon Lane.
George Pargeter, Balfour Beatty Project Director for the A21 Tonbridge to Pembury Project, added:
We are very pleased with the progress on the A21 given the complex nature of this project. The partial opening of the Longfield Flyover is set to transform journeys for local residents by providing a more streamlined route for drivers continuing on the A21 and is a testament to the skills and expertise of the project team.
The Longfield flyover will fully open to traffic – providing two lanes to traffic in both directions – later this summer when the new dual carriageway opens.
My cousin just lives off the A21 at Pembury, and is so fed up with these works. Was due to be completed last Autumn at this rate they will be at least 12 months overdue.
Returning from holiday I have driven this most days this week, great that both GSJ are now open, but still a bit of work to go. Interesting arrangement of having a full and compact GSJ in such close proximity. The width of the road southbound approaching the North Farm Park Junction widens to 4 lanes which is surprising and a little different from the HE fly through which I think had a slightly longer slip road.
I can imagine the quality of the road is going to encourage more Tunbridge Well traffic to stay on the A21 to the A264 Pembury Road junction to avoid Southborough and it will be interesting how that road copes. I can also imagine that pressure will be placed on the single carriageway section of the A21 from Kippings Cross to Lamberhurst.
[quote="I can imagine the quality of the road is going to encourage more Tunbridge Well traffic to stay on the A21 to the A264 Pembury Road junction to avoid Southborough and it will be interesting how that road copes. I can also imagine that pressure will be placed on the single carriageway section of the A21 from Kippings Cross to Lamberhurst.[/quote]
I can see the A264 getting very congested as this is a good alternative to ploughing through Southborough on the A26.
The A21 improvement will only shift the queue down to the Kippings Cross Roundabout and make the section to Lamberhurst very lumpy. However apart from Lamberhurst, the route south of Kippings Cross is pretty poor, but I can not see any further upgrades taken place
A303Chris wrote:The A21 improvement will only shift the queue down to the Kippings Cross Roundabout and make the section to Lamberhurst very lumpy. However apart from Lamberhurst, the route south of Kippings Cross is pretty poor, but I can not see any further upgrades taken place
And then hopefully the people in charge will say, "Oh, the queues are horrible on this section, perhaps we had better dual it."
The A21 improvement will only shift the queue down to the Kippings Cross Roundabout and make the section to Lamberhurst very lumpy. However apart from Lamberhurst, the route south of Kippings Cross is pretty poor, but I can not see any further upgrades taken place
Agreed.
As far as I am aware the plan to dual Kippling's Cross to Lamberhurst is for the road to be 'at grade' retaining the existing roundabout at the end of the Lamberhurst bypass. Quotation from the local news
Work is already under way to dual the link between Tonbridge and Pembury, and now the fight is on to expand the three-mile stretch between the Kippings Cross roundabout and the Lamberhurst bypass. The move could end traffic congestion on the crucial link between the rural Weald and Tunbridge Wells. MP Greg Clark told the Courier: “My campaign to dual the A21 always had two parts: the Tonbridge to Pembury section, and Kippings Cross to Lamberhurst.
2 lanes opened in each direction between the Vauxhall Lane (Tonbridge) and North Farm Park GSJ last night. Section between North Farm Park and Pembury still 1 lane due to Blackhurst Lane pedestrian and cyclist bridge works. Still all 40mph though, although few were observing.
Traffic management and speed restrictions now removed, although there may be occasional lane closures to complete the non motorised user route. Blackhurst Lane pedestrian and cycle bridge now in place.
Fluid Dynamics wrote:I can imagine the quality of the road is going to encourage more Tunbridge Well traffic to stay on the A21 to the A264 Pembury Road junction to avoid Southborough and it will be interesting how that road copes. I can also imagine that pressure will be placed on the single carriageway section of the A21 from Kippings Cross to Lamberhurst.
I noticed that the AA route planner recommends that route.
I drove along this road this week and thought it looked pretty new
There's still a temporary 50 limit around the A26 junction due to some "weak bridge" which isn't immediately obvious.
“The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.” – Robert A. Heinlein
The only scheme I would expect to come forward quickly is Kippings Cross to Lamberhust which was in the HA delivery programme prior to 2010. The HA did develop an offline scheme, a mix of D2, S3 and S2 for the Flimwell to Robersbridge section, but this met with some local opposition. The opening of the Tonbridge to Pembury dualing scheme has definitely but pressure on the Kippings Cross to Lamberhust section which seems regularly be congested and I can imagine there is a strong argument to bring that section forward in RS2. After that the section between St John’s Cross and Hastings, particularly around Seddlescombe, seems to suffer from regular accidents and congestion based on traffic reports, so that might be another option for bringing forward. Hopefully any improvements will be D2, the route is idenitified as a potential future expressway by HE.
