Sandgate High Street Resurfacing Works: An Assessment of Ringway working for Kent County Council

Finally, after months of reporting problems, potholes and failing surfaces on the A259 Sandgate High Street, and at least 2 previous missed attempts for Kent Highways to come and do those works, on Wednesday 21st October the Ringway cavalry rolled into Sandgate and the works were done!

I think my feedback on the works is that the actual work, amount of kit, size of team and quality of repair was pretty good *. 

However the preparation and notification to residents in advance, and the traffic management on site on the night was abject.

Official notifications had not gone out at all until the afternoon.

There were absolutely no letters delivered to local addresses that I can identify.

It didn't appear on one.network even yesterday.

The road was closed by 8pm and absolutely no way (nor attempt) to walk buses through (I'm not even sure Stagecoach were even notified in advance) despite a promise at a meeting immediately after the last postponed attempt that that was what would happen until buses stopped.

There was one traffic manager on site, which was way too few to manage traffic from the closure of the A259 and led to people driving through / across / into the work zone without management.

Its my first significant experience with a Ringway repair (which is sad, 5 months into their engagement) and as I say - the work of the contractor was fine - the notification woeful.

* Although.

Within 10 days of the work, a section of the newly laid surface directly outside the Royal Norfolk Hotel (directly on the A259 Sandgate High Street) has failed, as pictured (from this afternoon). It's around 30cm x 45cm, and the new surface has simply completely detached and is across the neighbouring bus stop.

In addition there was one particularly obvious fill missed around a manhole on the High Street at the Hythe end of the works (outside Nordens on Sandgate High Street). I've chased that AND the failed surface up with Kent Highways, and am told they will both be dealt with.

Lets hope the cost of coming back and repairing that clearly substandard resurfacing, and doing the works that should clearly have been done a fortnight ago but were missed (despite it being in the centre of the A259!) don't fall on the Kent Council tax payer, but is the contractors responsibility…