Ramsgate’s Royal Harbour Approach tunnel is expected to reopen at the end of this week following its closure due to damage from a crash and car fire on June 27.
One person was passed into the care of South East Coast Ambulance service following the incident.
The collision and fire caused ‘extensive damage’ with specialist contractors drafted in to work on repairs.
There was damage to the electrical systems, lighting, communications, and the road surface.
Kent County Council says ‘steady progress’ is being made. The authority is waiting for a specialist part to arrive to bring the public address (PA) system back into operation. This is a key safety feature and must be fully functional before the tunnel can reopen
The control cabinet that took the brunt of the damage has been repaired and the power and communications cables that connect to it (many of which were underground or hidden behind the cabinet) have been repaired and diverted where needed.
Most of the electrical distribution work has been completed and power is back on.
The tunnel has been cleaned and decontaminated, with the fire water flushed out of the drainage system.
All the required inspections have now been completed.
KCC expects the tunnel to reopen by Friday (July 18).
A full diversion route is in place but this has meant traffic on the Paragon – where the deteriorated beam of the West Cliff Hall supports the main road to the harbour and the first 40 metres of the West Cliff Promenade – and along Military Road which houses several hospitality businesses.
The diversion is via Canterbury Road East, London Road, Grange Road, St Augustine’s Road, Paragon, Royal Approach and Military Road.
The £30m tunnel opened in 2000 but Thanet council has recently been informed that it will require at least £6m for maintenance and improvement to safely handle the volume of freight associated with any future cross channel service.
Are we ever going to be told what happened? Driver had blood on his face from original report, but it was a car fire. So did he crash causing a fire, or did the fire cause him to crash? Or did he just bump his head when getting out of car in a rush?
I’m more concerned about the £6m it would cost to maintain the tunnel if the pigs might fly ferry farago ever came to fruition.
What may happen if the Labour Party and National Grid get their way, wrecking all the natural habitats and wildlife at Minster Marshes for their giant converter station, is that the tunnel would be used for transporting huge quantities of aggregate from the Port through to Pegwell for about 4 years.
It promises to be highway hell during its construction.
Classic NIMBY
Be closed again in a few days for monthly routine maintenance.
Its a white elephant! Some years ago I was stopped trying to take a short cut through it, on my bike! The ex Ghurka security guard was most polite, and let me through anyway, as no one else was using the tunnel, Duuurh!