Meanwhile Medway Council says it's done all it can to minimise disruption
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00:00 15 weeks of closures. It was predicted to be chaos, with drivers fearful of backlogs
00:07 towards the Medway tunnel and businesses concerned they'd have near to no customers.
00:12 Three weeks in, it may not have been the smoothest journey, but it seems to have not been as
00:17 disruptive as predicted. It's all to build the entrance of the new Maritime Academy on
00:22 Frinsbury Hill in Strood, which is infamously one of Medway's busiest areas.
00:28 I think we're more concerned about the future, the future impact on the traffic around that
00:34 roundabout. That roundabout's quite dangerous already, so you know, the extra traffic going
00:39 there for the school. That's their only issue really.
00:41 People moan about the boy racers going down on the estate. Well, they have to get to that
00:44 estate. They come down this road, often well in excess of the speed limit and making a
00:49 lot of noise. So it's lovely at the moment. Obviously the road is quieter, which is a
00:54 good thing for people's health and everything, because sometimes the traffic is really bad
00:58 up here. But it has made it a bit difficult for me when I go to work. I go down the A2,
01:04 so it's difficult to get out on the A2. It's coming home that's a problem, because obviously
01:08 everyone's trying to get here.
01:10 The sort of structure that's affecting all the businesses and the people around the area,
01:14 I don't think this should have happened. They should have made other arrangements to make
01:18 access to the road.
01:20 After a couple of weeks of these roadworks going on, it has been a lot better, because
01:25 people are starting to figure out that it's not actually that bad around these areas,
01:29 and it's not as bad as what people thought it was, I think.
01:32 Despite the signposts, a lot of the drivers here don't seem to be aware that there are
01:36 roadworks ahead. As you can see, a lot of the drivers are still going up to the roundabout
01:42 and then having to turn back the other way.
01:44 Medway Council had looked into other measures to close this road in a way with minimal disruption,
01:50 but say this method was the most effective.
01:53 As with any roadworks, we want to minimise the impact on the community. That's our primary
01:58 purpose in all this management process. So the officers are trying to schedule the works
02:03 as carefully as they can. If we can spot any opportunity to reduce that timescale, we'll
02:08 discuss it with the contractors and we'll bring it down.
02:10 Those still looking to get to or from Rochester during these roadworks can use this diversion
02:15 route.
02:16 The works are scheduled to be finished on the 21st of June.
02:20 Sophia Aiken for KMTV in Strood.