MP supports end to traffic 'chaos' after landslip
High Profile Aerial Residents of a Kent town hit by a road collapse have lived with "misery, disruption and chaos" for three years, an MP has said.
A section of the A226 Galley Hill Road in Swanscombe collapsed following a burst water main in April 2023, with repairs to the road expected cost as much as £46m.
Dartford MP Jim Dickson made the comments in a two-page appeal to the Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander on Monday, as a deadline for a funding appeal passed, offering his "strongest possible support" to Kent County Council (KCC).
The council previously applied for £63m in funding to repair the road, and the A299 between Whitstable and Ramsgate.
On the day that the deadline for applications passed, Dickson wrote: "For three years, the people of Swanscombe have lived with the misery, disruption and chaos caused by the collapse of Galley Hill.
"Residents have endured daily congestion, unreliable journeys, safety concerns from heavy goods vehicles using roads that are wholly unsuitable for them and the constant frustration of having no clear end in sight.
"After three years, local people are understandably losing patience and hope."
LDRSA section of the A226 sheared off in April 2023 and landed on a business premises below.
People living in nearby Stanhope Road have been particularly badly hit by an increase in traffic volumes, especially large goods vehicles which have been mounting pavements to get through, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Two options have been explored to repair the road – either to restore the cliff or to build a bridge over the affected area.
Experts have favoured building the bridge as it may be quicker and ultimately cheaper – but the project may take at least three years.
Swanscombe councillor Thomas Mallon said that KCC hoped to hear back about its bid to the Department for Transport's £1bn Structures Fund by November.
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