Pilgrims Way surface improvements 25 August

From KCC:

Pilgrims Way, Boughton Aluph

This is to let you know that, as part of the on-going maintenance and improvement of the highway network,
Kent County Council will be working to improve the road surface of Pilgrims Way, Boughton Aluph
between the junctions of Church Lane to Wye Road.

These road surface improvement works are programmed to start on the 25.08.2026 and should take 1 day
to complete. These activities will be undertaken during a short working window between the hours of
07:00 – 19:00

This type of work can be affected by bad weather, so if it is not possible for us to carry it out at this time, we
will arrange a new date and let you know via a letter drop to your home. We will also put up signs along the
road, before we start, showing the date we plan to start work.

During these essential works it will be necessary to close the road completely so that we can carry out the
works safely for both the workforce and road users. During this closure, a diversion route will be in place via
Wye Road, Canterbury Road, Church Lane

The timings of works and how the ‘working window’ may affect you
Our surfacing improvement (Surface Dressing) is a very quick process and usually takes no more than half
a day to complete. We therefore undertake a programme of several surfacing sites in a day, following on
consecutively from each other, to maximise the economy of our surfacing. Consequently, it is not possible to
give an exact time when we will attend your road in advance of the works as this is dependent on the
progress at other sites during the day, however the works are programmed to be undertaken within the
working window specified above.
Where we have specified the works may take place over 2 or more days, we would expect our operatives to
be on site on either of these days, again for a few hours in a single visit. Surface Dressing is a quick
process but is also heavily dependent on good weather and site conditions. By allowing for extra days we
can ensure that unforeseen circumstances to our works can be accommodated and disruption to local
residents is minimised.

What we plan to do
We will use a process called ‘Surface Dressing’ to improve the road surface. Surface dressing is quick to
apply, which means less disruption to road users, residents, local businesses and the emergency services.
It is a cost-effective way of prolonging the life expectancy of the road before any major repair works are
required. It also benefits from having a low carbon footprint.
Surface dressing is applied directly onto the existing road in two stages. The first is the application of a hot
binder which is sprayed onto the road surface and the second is the laying of chippings onto the binder.
(Sometimes we lay 2 or more layers of chippings depending on the design). These layers seal the surface to
prevent water penetration, restore texture and improve skid resistance. The carriageway may then be rolled
using a rubber wheeled roller. This is to ensure the chippings are properly embedded and stick into the
binder permanently. The continued action of the traffic also helps to embed the chippings as well.
To make sure all the binder is covered with chippings, we lay enough onto the road to ensure a full covering,
and to make certain there are no gaps. There will be some loose chippings left, which is quite normal, and
consequently we erect 20mph speed limit signs to slow vehicles down as they pass over the new surface.
These signs will be on site until the road has settled down and all programmed sweeps have been carried
out.
Generally, after 14 days of the completion of the surfacing the road markings will be reinstated.

If your vehicle is usually parked on the carriageway, please make sure you park it somewhere else
away from the site whilst the works are carried out, so the road is clear for us to resurfacing

If you need more information, you can visit our website www.kent.gov.uk/resurfacingupdates to view our
programme & updates. You can also view our diversion/permit details at www.one.network.