Sittingbourne relief road is 'vital' for haulage firms
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roger.nrownfarbi,co.uk HAULIERS IN KENT claim it is vital the Sittingbourne northern relief road is finished as quickly as possible to put an end to the "appalling" traffic congestion in the town.
Colin McKay: managing director of Fast Forward International, based on the Eurolink Business Park in Sittingbourne, tells CM he believes preliminary building work on the new road, which started at the end of last year, is "long overdue".
The £35.5m road, due to open to traffic at the end of 2011, will transform access into the park, and eventually link to the A249 and A2.
McKay adds: "We have been calling for this road for many years, but progress seems to have been painfully slow. The road will bypass the town centre and provide much better access to the business park.
"There have been a lot of delays over the past few years and it is vital for business that the road is built as soon as possible."
David Pink, managing director of Dodd's Transport, also based on the Eurolink Park, says: "The congestion in the town at the moment is appalling. The road is going to make a big difference.
"It will enable us to get out onto the A249 and probably save us 15 minutes per truck."
Peter Carroll, who sold his Maidstone-based haulage business Seymour Transport to Evans Transport earlier this month, says the completion of the northern relief road will be a "big boon" for companies in the area.
He continues: "Seymour Transport's second biggest customer is based in Sittingbourne and I can say that the town regularly suffers from the nightmare of gridlock."
The scheme received planning consent back in September 2006, but the statutory orders for the compulsory purchase of land, changes to side roads and authority to build a bridge in the Milton Creek area were only confirmed by the Secretary of State for Transport in December 2008, with full funding approved in August 2009.