00:00It's known locally as an accident black spot between Headcorn and Staplehurst but now there
00:06are renewed calls for Kent County Council to install traffic lights at Hawkenbury Bridge
00:13before any tragedies take place. You know it's been highlighted every time they do a diversion
00:20it's £100,000 it costs them to divert the traffic and close off the bridge. You know if you're
00:26getting there two, three, four times a year that's a significant amount of money. If you
00:32put in traffic lights that would negate any of that. If you want to get a sense of how dangerous
00:39this bridge and this road actually is you can see the damage that has been done from cars colliding
00:47in to these brick walls. It's a single track road there's low visibility but cars keep on doing it
00:55and locals have had enough. When I was a youngster there was never any accidents on that bridge
01:02until when they started building all the houses. People that don't know this way they've got
01:08faster and faster and that's where the accidents have happened. The Hawkenbury pub knows first
01:13hand how dangerous this road can be. Each time the bridge closes for repairs after an accident.
01:22Takings drop by up to 15%. We've been here 13 and a half years and when we came here people
01:29used to
01:29love to sit here in this area particularly because you've got the sunshine in the the last of sunshine
01:35in the evening. Now nobody will sit here because of the amount of traffic. Kent County Council say they
01:41have explored a number of options including traffic signals but due to physical constraints many options
01:49are not feasible. Instead the authority is putting forward plans for refreshed road markings and new
01:58warning signs. For the time being the bridge remains open but the community here is braced for the worst.
02:06Ollie Leader in Hawkenbury.
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