A route used as a rat run in Tunbridge Wells is to be shut. The closure is so Kent County Council can carry out urgent work on kerbs and safety posts.
Drivers use Cornford Lane to avoid the busy A264 Pembury Road between Tunbridge Wells and other areas, including for the A21 and the M25.
It will be shut for through traffic for up to 19 days from Wednesday (January 13). The road is due to be shut between 7am and 7pm each day.
The diversion is via Cornford Lane, High Street, Pembury Road and Halls Hole Road. Cornford Lane would be closed from Aspens Services to Muxelwell Farm from January 13.
White knuckle drive
The rural lane, which comes out on the High Street in Pembury, also joins the busy Halls Hole Road which links the village of Hawkenbury to Pembury Road. It is used by motorists to avoid a section of the notoriously congested Pembury Road.
But as rat runs, it’s not the easiest route. There are narrow sections, one vehicle width in some parts, meaning the lane itself can become congested and there are accidents.
And Halls Hole Road, which is also a lane, can be a white-knuckle drive, as it has solid stone walls, and the lane twists with no pavements or verges, meaning vehicles can struggle to even pass. It is also on a hill, so vehicles coming up at night can blind drivers travelling down.
Kent County Council said the narrow lane had to be shut for through traffic for “urgent kerb and safety post” work to be done.