M20 J8 westbound entry shut 2 Oct and 5 to 7 Oct; J6 westbound exit shut 5 to 7 Oct. Chart Hill Road, Chart Sutton closed up to 12 days from Monday.
Maidstone’s traffic problems rarely start in Maidstone. The town sits between the M20, the A229 over Blue Bell Hill and the A249 over Detling Hill. When any of those is dug up, the queues land on the town’s bridges and gyratory.
This page tracks the Maidstone roadworks that are live now and until when. It then covers the things that do not change: which motorway junction to use, what station parking costs, and where to check live conditions. Sources are linked throughout so you can check the dates yourself.
Running now: Wharf Road in Tovil, and the motorway nights start again
Updated Friday 2 October 2026.
Wharf Road in Tovil is still closed at the Beaconsfield Road junction. Kent County Council’s notice allows up to 12 days from 21 September, which takes it to about Saturday 3 October. It comes with a no waiting restriction, so parked cars have to move. The signed diversion runs via Beaconsfield Road, Church Road and Lower Tovil (KCC Maidstone notices, 3 September).
The A229 Cranbrook Road at Staplehurst keeps its temporary 30mph limit, in place of the 50mph towards Knocksbridge Farm, for up to 21 days from 14 September, so to about Monday 5 October (KCC Maidstone notices, 10 September).
The M20 Junction 8 westbound entry slip at Leeds and Hollingbourne was due to reopen after Thursday night. It has not finished. National Highways’ newest closure report books it again for tonight, Friday 2 October, and for Monday 5 to Wednesday 7 October, each night 8pm to 6am (details below).
Last week’s short village closures have run their course: Mynn Crescent in Bearsted, White Horse Lane in Otham, the B2015 at Nettlestead, Chapel Lane in Staplehurst, Hermitage Lane in Boughton Monchelsea and Westerhill Road in Coxheath. Their permitted periods ended between 29 September and 1 October.
What it means for you: Tovil should clear this weekend. From Monday the pressure moves to the motorway at night, and to a 12-day closure at Chart Sutton.
The motorway week: Junctions 6 and 8 westbound shut at night
National Highways’ seven-day closure report now runs from Thursday 1 to Wednesday 7 October. We read every row (National Highways road closure report).
The closures most likely to catch a Maidstone journey:
| Closure | Nights | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| M20 westbound, Junction 8 entry slip (Leeds and Hollingbourne) | Fri 2 Oct; Mon 5, Tue 6, Wed 7 Oct | 8pm to 6am |
| M20 westbound, Junction 6 entry slip (A229, Chatham Road) | Sun 4 Oct | 8pm to 4am |
| M20 westbound, Junction 6 exit slip and distributor road | Mon 5, Tue 6, Wed 7 Oct | 8pm to 6am |
The Junction 8 nights are for communications work between Junctions 8 and 9. On those nights you cannot join the M20 towards London at Leeds; the next westbound entries are Junctions 7 and 6.
The Junction 6 exit closures are for inspection work on the westbound carriageway between Junctions 7 and 4. Coming back from Ashford on those nights, you cannot leave at the A229 for the town centre. Junction 7 (A249) and Junction 5 (A20) are the nearest alternatives.
Also in the report, further out:
- M2 eastbound, Junction 4 entry and exit slips at Gillingham, about eight miles north, Friday 2 October, 8pm to 6am.
- M20 eastbound, Junction 9 to 10a carriageway at Ashford, closed Friday 2 October, 9pm to 6am, for carriageway reconstruction.
- A249 Sheppey Crossing, about 13 miles north, closed both ways on the nights of 5, 6 and 7 October for drainage work. That is the Sheerness end of the A249, not Detling Hill.
There is nothing on the A229 Blue Bell Hill, Detling Hill, or the M20 at Junctions 5 and 7 in the report up to 7 October.
What it means for you: for London on a weeknight evening, join at Junction 7 rather than 8. Heading home westbound late on Monday to Wednesday, plan to come off at Junction 7 or 5, not 6.
Kent County Council’s roads: what is shut into late October
Kent County Council publishes its temporary traffic orders for the Maidstone area on the Public Notice Portal. The newest Maidstone batch was published on 1 October and dated 2 October. The table combines it with the earlier batches whose closures are still running or still to come (3 September batch; 24 September batch; 1 October batch).
Where the council “has made” an order, the date is fixed unless the work finishes early. Where it “intends to make” one, it is a proposal and can move. Every date is “on or after”, for the longest time stated.
| Road | From | Up to | Why, and status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wharf Road, Tovil (at Beaconsfield Road) | 21 Sep | 12 days, so to about 3 Oct | Water connection, with no waiting imposed; proposed; diversion via Beaconsfield Road, Church Road and Lower Tovil |
| Chart Hill Road, Chart Sutton (by Hawthorn Lodge) | 5 Oct | 12 days, so to about 16 Oct | Two new water connections; order made; diversion via Amber Lane, Back Lane, Park Lane, Heath Road and the A229 Linton Hill |
| Halstow Close, Loose (by number 33) | 5 Oct | 7 days | Cabling; order made; no diversion, access kept where safe |
| Bow Hill, Nettlestead (Kennel Cottages to Hunt Street) | 5 Oct | 5 nights, 7pm to 4am | Cable and duct clearing; order made; diversion via Kenward Road, Yalding, Teston and the A26 |
| Kenward Road, Yalding (Hunt Street to Yalding Hill) | 5 Oct | 5 nights, 7pm to 4am | Cable and duct clearing; order made; diversion via Yalding Hill, Teston, the A26 and Bow Hill |
| Gallants Lane, East Farleigh (Gallants Farm to Parsonage Cottages) | 5 Oct | 1 day | Frame and cover replacement; order made; diversion via Lower Road, Ewell Lane and Heath Road |
| B2162 Benover Road, Yalding (Nightingale Farm to Yalding Organic Gardens) | 8 Oct | 1 day, 9.30am to 3.30pm | Temporary 40mph, the 50mph suspended, for traffic lights during pole testing; order made |
| Buckland Road, Maidstone (Buckland Hill to the school gates) | 8 Oct | 5pm to 10pm on 8 and 13 Oct, 19 Nov and 3 Dec | Parking banned for school events; order made |
| B2163 Plough Wents Road, Chart Sutton (Brishing Road to the A274) | 12 Oct | 1 day | Gully cleansing; proposed; diversion via the A274, A229 Loose Road and Linton Road, and Heath Road |
| Headcorn Road, Ulcombe, and Sandway, Boughton Malherbe | 12 Oct | 2 days each | Telegraph pole replacement; proposed; long diversions via East Sutton and Lenham Heath |
| Scragged Oak Road, Detling (by Pollyfields Manor) | 14 Oct | 1 day | Gully cleansing; proposed; diversion via Court Lane and Cox Street |
| A20 London Road, Allington (Talbot Road to number 199) | 16 Oct | 1 night, 7pm to 5am | Cycle lane suspended for telecoms mast maintenance; proposed |
| B2162 Collier Street (Kings Lane to St Margaret's Church) | 17 Oct | 1 day, 9.30am to 3.30pm | Utility works; proposed; long diversion via Marden, Goudhurst and Claygate |
| Hockers Lane, Detling (A249 Bearsted Road to Church Lane) | 19 Oct | 2 days | Warning signs and road markings; proposed; diversions via the A249 and Newnham Court roundabout |
| Old Mill Road, Hollingbourne (by Old Mill Farm) | 19 Oct | 4 days | Tree works; proposed; diversion via the A20 and Penfold Hill |
| East Street and Hunton Road, Hunton | 19 Oct | 1 day, 7am to 7pm | Drainage cleansing; proposed; long diversion via Linton Hill and Marden |
| The Street, Ulcombe (by Chadwell) | 19 Oct | 1 day | Overhead cabling; proposed; diversion via Ulcombe Hill and Headcorn Road |
| Dean Street, East Farleigh (Workhouse Lane to Homelands) | 20 Oct | 1 day, 7am to 7pm | Drainage cleansing; proposed; diversion via Heath Road, Ewell Lane and Lower Road |
| Dunn Street and Dunn Street Road, Bredhurst | 20 Oct | 1 night, 7pm to 5am | Road markings; proposed; diversion via Chapel Lane, Forge Lane and Lidsing Road |
| Forsham Lane, Sutton Valence (A274 to Green Lane) | 21 Oct | 1 day, 8am to 5pm | Drainage cleansing; proposed; diversion via the A274, Chart Road and Chart Hill Road |
| Forge Lane, East Farleigh (The Green to east of number 6) | 22 Oct | 1 day, 7am to 7pm | Drainage cleansing; proposed; diversion via The Green, Lower Road and Dean Street |
| Bow Hill, Nettlestead (Bow Bridge to Hunt Street) | 23 Oct | 1 day, 4pm to midnight | Drainage cleansing; proposed; long diversion via the A26 and Yalding |
What it means for you: the one to plan around is Chart Hill Road at Chart Sutton, shut for up to 12 days from Monday. Its diversion uses the A229 Linton Hill, which already has SGN’s temporary lights (see below). Yalding and Nettlestead lose Bow Hill and Kenward Road overnight all next week. In town, the next change is the evening parking ban on Buckland Road on 8 October.
Surface dressing: 14 roads in the programme, no dates yet
A separate Kent County Council order covers its surface preservation programme across the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells areas. It took effect on or after 7 September and lasts up to 18 months. Each road will be closed while it is treated, with a temporary 20mph limit and no waiting (KCC Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells notice, 3 September 2026).
The Maidstone roads on the schedule:
- A229 Station Road and Maidstone Road, Staplehurst, Clapper Lane to Station Approach
- B2163 Plough Wents Road, Chart Sutton, Leeds Road to Heath Road
- B2010 Lower Road, East Farleigh, Station Hill to Burial Ground Lane
- Goudhurst Road and Pinnock Lane, Staplehurst
- Church Lane, Charlton Lane, Morry Lane, East Sutton Road and Chartway Street, East Sutton
No dates are published yet. The notice says planned dates will go on signs on site 14 days before work starts. The Staplehurst stretch of the A229 is the big one: its signed diversion runs via Headcorn, Sutton Valence and the A229 Loose Road.
Trains: a Sunday closure, late-night buses, and fewer morning trains
Sunday 4 October: buses from Borough Green to Ashford
All lines close between Borough Green & Wrotham and Ashford International (Southeastern engineering work, 4 October).
- London Victoria trains run only as far as Borough Green & Wrotham.
- Buses run Borough Green & Wrotham to Maidstone East, calling at all stations except West Malling and East Malling.
- Buses run Maidstone East to Ashford International, calling at all stations.
- A minibus shuttles between West Malling and East Malling.
Monday 5 to Thursday 8 October: late trains go via Sevenoaks
From 23:05 until the end of service, Monday to Thursday, trains via Maidstone East are diverted after Otford via Sevenoaks (Southeastern engineering work, 5 October). Replacement buses run:
- Sevenoaks to Maidstone East, calling at all stations except East Malling
- Sevenoaks to Lenham, calling at all stations except Kemsing, East Malling, Hollingbourne, Harrietsham and Charing
- Maidstone East to Ashford International, calling at all stations
- a minibus between West Malling and East Malling
Saturday 10 October: Maidstone East trains use Victoria
With no trains to or from London Charing Cross or Waterloo East on 10 and 11 October, Southeastern says that on the Saturday only, trains between Charing Cross and Maidstone East run to and from London Victoria instead, calling additionally at Bromley South (Southeastern engineering work, 10 October). The same switch to Victoria applies on Saturday 17 October, when the lines between Lewisham and Orpington are closed (Southeastern engineering work, 17 October).
Monday 12 to Friday 16 October: hourly mornings to Ashford
Daytime work between Maidstone East and Ashford International cuts the off-peak service to hourly from 08:20 until about 12:00 (Southeastern engineering work, 12 to 16 October).
- The 08:25, 09:25 and 10:25 London Victoria to Ashford International do not run.
- The 09:28 and 10:27 Ashford International to London Victoria do not run.
- The 08:25 from Victoria runs via Tonbridge instead, calling at Paddock Wood, Marden, Staplehurst and Headcorn.
Monday 19 to Friday 23 October: hourly Medway Valley line
The Paddock Wood to Strood line through Maidstone West runs hourly from 09:00 until about 14:00 for daytime maintenance. Half-hourly trains resume with the 13:33 from Strood and the 14:33 from Paddock Wood (Southeastern engineering work, 19 to 23 October).
What it means for you: on Sunday and on late nights next week, Maidstone West and the Medway Valley line are the clean way home. From 19 October that line thins out in the middle of the day instead. Our train times guide covers the routes.
Proposed: new traffic orders, and two deadlines that have closed
Kent County Council has advertised three sets of permanent changes in the borough. One is still open to objection:
- A 20mph zone on 14 roads around Bower Mount Road, plus a 30mph limit on Workhouse Lane and part of Stockett Lane in East Farleigh. Objections close at 12 noon on Monday 5 October (KCC Kent-wide notice, 10 September 2026). We have covered it in a separate report.
Two have closed:
- Objections to closing the first 35 metres of Brewer Street to motor vehicles ended at 12 noon on Monday 21 September (KCC Kent-wide notice, 27 August 2026). Our separate report explains what was proposed.
- Objections to a ban on horse-drawn vehicles and ridden horses on the A228 Whetsted Road in Yalding ended at 12 noon on Monday 28 September (KCC Kent-wide notice, 3 September 2026).
The council has not yet published whether it will make either order. The Kent-wide notices of 24 September and 1 October carry no Maidstone orders. We will report the outcomes when they appear.
Objections go to the Senior Parking and Traffic Regulation Officer at Kroner House, Ashford, or through kent.gov.uk/highwaysconsultations. The council’s notices say an objection must explain the impact on traffic in the locality to be valid.
Still running: gas mains on Linton Road until late January 2027
SGN began replacing gas mains on the A229 south of town on 22 July 2026. The phases, as published:
- about three weeks on Linton Hill, with temporary signals at Linton Crossroads
- around 27 weeks on Linton Road, working towards Loose Road, under manual lights from 7am to 7pm, to 27 January 2027
- a three-week full closure of Old Loose Hill with signed diversions, from 25 January
(KentOnline). By that phasing, the long Linton Road stage is under way now. We could not confirm the phase dates against SGN directly on 23 September: its roadworks page returns an error and its site has no reachable search, so the dates above remain the ones reported in July rather than anything the operator publishes now.
What it means for you: the A229 Loose Road corridor has temporary lights through autumn and winter. Coxheath, Linton and Boughton Monchelsea commuters should allow extra time, or come in on the A274.
Royal Engineers’ Road roundabout: finish date still not confirmed
Kent Highways began work on the A229 roundabout by Maidstone Library on 21 July, with a six-week schedule ending by 1 September (KentOnline, 22 July).
We still could not confirm that it has finished. Kent County Council publishes no page for the scheme; its roadworks section has only a live map. The work appears in none of the county’s September traffic notice batches, including the newest one of 1 October.
Coming next: the £250m Blue Bell Hill upgrade
The biggest scheme on Maidstone’s horizon is Kent County Council’s £250 million upgrade of the A229 Blue Bell Hill, between M20 Junction 6 and the M2. The plans, consulted on in January 2025, would:
- create free-flowing links between the A229 and the M2
- realign the link between the Bridgewood and Lord Lees roundabouts
- widen the A229 to three lanes Maidstone-bound between Lord Lees and Cobtree
- enlarge the Running Horse roundabout
(KentOnline).
In March 2026 the scheme stayed in the national programme after the spending review. The county council was clear that is not yet a funding decision. Construction is committed to start before the end of March 2029, subject to approvals, with completion targeted by 2031 (KentOnline).
The evergreen map: which junction, which road
Maidstone is served by M20 Junctions 5 to 8, and picking the right one saves real time (M20 junction list):
| Junction | Road | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| J5 | A20 | Aylesford, Allington and the west of town |
| J6 | A229 | Town centre from the north; Blue Bell Hill to Chatham and the M2 |
| J7 | A249 | Bearsted Road, Detling Hill to Sittingbourne and Sheerness |
| J8 | A20 | Leeds Castle, Bearsted and Lenham |
South of the centre, the A229 (Loose Road) and A274 (Sutton Road) carry the Weald villages’ traffic in. Both are covered by the gas works section above.
Station parking and the train alternative
When the roads are bad, the train is often the answer. Our Maidstone train times guide covers routes and fares. Both stations’ car parks are run by APCOA (Southeastern, Maidstone East; Maidstone West):
- Maidstone East: 524 spaces. Midweek daily rate £8.50 (Tuesday to Thursday), £4.00 after 6pm, weekly £33.30, monthly £125.80. Blue Badge holders park free but must register the vehicle in advance.
- Maidstone West: just 54 spaces. Midweek daily rate £8.40, £3.50 after 6pm, weekly £32.80, monthly £123.40.
For town-centre parking, tariffs and season tickets, see our guide to parking in Maidstone.
Park and ride: gone, with one exception
Maidstone no longer has a public park and ride. The service ran from 1989 and ended on 19 February 2022, when the last two sites, Willington Street and London Road, closed. The buses were carrying around 500 passengers a day, and operator Arriva said it needed 1,100 to break even (KentOnline).
The exception is the NHS trust’s free hospital park and ride to Maidstone Hospital. It runs from the former London Road site off the A20, behind the DFS store, with buses every 30 minutes or better on weekdays, as reported in early 2025 (KentOnline). It is for hospital visits, not commuting. Check current times with the trust.
Where to check live conditions
- National Highways travel updates: live incidents on the M20, M2 and A249, plus the road closure report of planned overnight closures, updated twice daily on weekdays.
- one.network: the live map of council and utility streetworks, including the Kent Highways and SGN jobs above.
- Southeastern’s engineering work page, which gives the full notice for any date you ask it for.
We update the live-works section of this page as schedules change. The end dates above are the operators’ own, and utility works in particular can overrun.
Sources
- National Highways: road closure report (seven-day report covering Thursday 1 to Wednesday 7 October, read on 2 October)
- National Highways: South East maintenance schemes (M20 Junction 6 Chatham Road works, 14 to 26 September)
- KCC Maidstone area temporary traffic notices of 3 September, 10 September, 24 September and 1 October 2026 (the closure table; the 1 October batch was the newest on 2 October)
- KCC Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells surface preservation order, 3 September 2026
- KCC Kent-wide notices, 10 September 2026 (Bower Mount 20mph and the East Farleigh 30mph), 3 September 2026 (Whetsted Road) and 27 August 2026 (Brewer Street)
- Southeastern engineering work notices for 4 October, 5 October, 10 October, 12 to 16 October, 17 October and 19 to 23 October
- Kent County Council: roadworks (no scheme page for Royal Engineers’ Road)
- KentOnline: lane closures for roundabout roadworks (Royal Engineers’ Road works)
- KentOnline: roadworks misery on key route until January (SGN Linton and Loose Road phases)
- KentOnline: plans for £250m Blue Bell Hill upgrade and green light for Blue Bell Hill improvements
- Wikipedia: M20 motorway (junction destinations)
- Southeastern: Maidstone East station and Maidstone West station (parking)
- KentOnline: last day for town’s park and ride and free hospital park and ride underused
Works schedules checked against the sources above on 2 October 2026. The SGN Linton Road phases were last checked on 23 September. End dates are the operators’ published intentions and can change. Check the live sources before a journey that depends on them.
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