Capel Fleet Raptor View Point Road Works

[KentYeti]

Originally Posted by htcdude

3 weeks!?!?!?!! To resurface that length of road round here would take 3 years!

Hopefully it won't disturb the wildlife too much, although there's a lot farm machinery and the new reserve being built nearby anyway so maybe they'll be used to it.

Nige

Oh.

When she said early February, I didn't ask which year! LOL!

Cheers,

Bryan

[Jersali]

Useful indeed Bryan, off to Herrts tomorrow looks like a Sheppey visit is on the cards (on the way or way back Sunday)
Just need to convince the missus

[KentYeti]

The works did start today, (but the notice at the main road end says they are gulley clearance works! LOL!).

From the movement of various machines, and the lorries carrying hot bitmen and tarmac it looks like they have started at the Ferry Inn end of the road.

So it should be a few days until they get down to the raptor viewing point.

Once they are there I feel it will be difficult to drive along that part of the road without very long delays. Traffic on the road was way down on normal today which indicates to me it is not easy to get past the works where they are being done!

In fact, thinking about it, I can't see how it is possible on that very narrow road to get past the actual work site at all while they are working on it. You may have to wait for a section to be completed and made ready for traffic.

After all the "no owl days" due to the high winds, the Short-Eared Owls were back hunting again today.

Cheers,

Bryan

[KentYeti]

For some reason no road work was being done today. It has been done from Harty Church and the Ferry Inn to maybe just over half way to the Capel Fleet Viewing point. So maybe two or three more working days until it reaches there. The re-treaded road is certainly an improvement. Undulations remain, but not the ruts and potholes.

Further disruption is being caused by famers dyke clearance, now right by the road just SW of the Owl hunting field at Capel Fleet.

A noisy tractor was running for hours today pumping water from one dyke to another and that seemed to keep the two owls that hunted there, (on and off from 15.10 until I left around 16.40), mainly away from the road. Until the tractor was turned off when one very quickly came over to that side. Presumably the noise disrupts their hearing when hunting.

So expect further disruption with noise etc from that activity as well as from the road works!

Presumably the road works will not take place over the weekend, but the dyke clearance work being done by the farmers may continue for some part of Saturday/Sunday?

Cheers,

Bryan

[Jim Ford]

Originally Posted by KentYeti

I spoke to Kent CC Highways Department today and they confirmed what I had heard, i.e the whole of the Harty Ferry Road is to be resurfaced starting on Monday 23rd January.

Does 'resurfacing' in Kent mean pounding some more rocks into the cart ruts?

;^)

Jim

[KentYeti]

Originally Posted by Jim Ford

Does 'resurfacing' in Kent mean pounding some more rocks into the cart ruts?

;^)

Jim

Carts?

We haven't even invented the wheel down here yet!

Cheers,

Bryan

[Adam Cheeseman]

Originally Posted by Jim Ford

Does 'resurfacing' in Kent mean pounding some more rocks into the cart ruts?

;^)

Jim

They're going to need a whole heap of material then!

Cheers,

Adam

[KentYeti]

If todays progress is replicated I would expect them to be working past the Capel Fleet Raptor viewing point tomorrow, (Tuesday) and/or Wednesday this week.

Even after then it will take a lot of patience to get past the road works as they move closer to the main road. The few cars still using the road at present had a very long wait just past the Raptor viewing point to wait for a section to be completed before they could proceed. One car at least gave up and came back.

From the progress made today it does look like they will be finished by the end of next week.

There was no sign of any of the equipment or noise seen last Friday with the dyke clearance work. It would make sense for that being done right by the road to be held back until after the road works have passed by.

One Short Eared owl made a late appearance today, at about 16.20. Not much else about either. Marsh Harriers and a Common Buzzard in the distance. Plus the resident Kestrels.


A biting cold North wind and very dull. With a gritter out on the main road as I drove home. And light snow trying to fall on the North Downs.

Cheers,

Bryan

[KentYeti]

Road works are now finished from The Ferry Inn and Harty Church past the Capel Fleet Raptor Viewing Point and up to about level with the footbridge over the Fleet.

So the top end of the field near the Viewing Point should be disturbance free. Unless the dyke clerarance restarts there!

It is pot luck as to how long it takes to get through the road works. I arrived just after a part had been done and the roller was waiting for the bitumen and tarmac lorries to return. So I drove straight through.

But if you arrive just as they start working on a section there could be delay of up to 10 minutes before getting past, from what I saw today. I'm not sure what delay there will be when they start getting a section ready for tarmac etc.

I spent two hours at the Viewing Point from 14.30. Only the hardy Marsh Harriers were about in any numbers. In a strong NE wind and temperatures only just above freezing most other birds only showed briefly before hunkering back down.

No Short Eared Owls seen. They seem to only hunt in strong winds if they really are hungry.

Snow showers forecast there for the next few days.

Cheers,

Bryan

[pressld2]

Thanks for the update Bryan. I'm thinking about where to go this Sunday and am tempted to try for the shorties, but at the moment there's fairly heavy snow forecast for Saturday night and Sunday morning so plans may change!

Dave P.