Eynsford: resurfacing the High Street

The High Street in Eynsford, especially the section outside the school, has been left in a poor state, with many large potholes, since the severe winter weather.

I have for some time been discussing with Kent Highways their proposals for tackling the problem. There have been suggestions for jet patching work pending more thoroughgoing repairs, and more recently a proposal that resurfacing work would be done in May.

Kent Highways are now proposing carrying out the works, which will require a road closure, in late July. This would take advantage of the school holidays as well as higher road temperatures at night, which will be more suitable for the material that will be used. In addition, carrying out the works in July will yield a significant financial saving by comparison with May -  a material consideration when the resurfacing budget for Sevenoaks is stretched pretty thin.

The section to be resurfaced will run southwest from the junction with Mill Lane to the Baptist Church. Temporary repairs will be carried out in the meantime to improve the surface for road users prior to the full resurfacing. While there may be concerns that temporary patching is inefficient, my understanding is that the cost invoked is much smaller than the saving yielded by carrying out the main resurfacing work in July.

As of this evening, the holes that need temporary patching have been marked out with white lines. These short-term works should be carried out within seven working days.