Miracle escape
Oh lucky Jim! Bridge misses biker by inches
The M20 will be closed all weekend as work begins to dismantle what remains of the footbridge struck by a lorry.
One half of the ruined crossing has remained hanging over motorists as a grim reminder of how close the county came to tragedy and of the heroism of police, paramedics, fire crews and engineers who toiled all hours to help those injured or stranded, and re-open the motorway within 24 hours.
A major incident was declared when the bridge crashed down on traffic on Saturday afternoon at junction 4 for Leybourne, crushing two lorries and narrowly missing one motorcyclist by inches.
It is expected to be shut from 8pm today (Friday) until 6am Monday to allow the remaining section to be removed.
A Kent motorway came to a juddering halt when a digger on the back of a lorry ploughed into a pedestrian footbridge, causing it to collapse.
The crash just after noon on Saturday showered 170 tonnes of concrete on to the Londonbound carriageway between J4 (Leybourne) and J3 (Borough Green) of the M20, crushing two lorries and forcing one man to throw himself from his motorbike to escape the debris.
There were chaotic scenes as police declared a major incident and closed the road in both directions, causing tailbacks that at their height reached 15 miles – on one of the busiest bank holiday weekends of the year.
Miraculously, no one was seriously injured, though 73-yearold biker Jim Shaw was lucky to escape alive and taken to hospital with suspected broken ribs.
A driver of another lorry involved was treated for shock at the scene.
Highways England engineers and emergency services toiled through the night and the next day to clear the rubble.
The incident sparked a major joint operation involving dozens of police officers, 25 fire officers, an ambulance and paramedic car as well as the air ambulance.
The fallen sections were cut up and loaded by heavy-duty cranes drafted in from across southern England on to lorries and driven to a number of Highways England depots. There they will be available for analysis by inves-
tigators – they will then be recycled when no longer needed.
Highways England teams carrried out repairs on the road surface and safety barrier and the motorway was reopened by 5pm the next day.
Offham resident Mike Rowe said he heard a loud crash when the incident happened.
He told the Kent Messenger: “My wife and I were in our garden when I heard a massive metallic clanging sound, rather like as if someone had dropped a large sheet of steel.
“I just hoped when I heard it that nobody had been injured and it is good to hear that the accident has resulted in only minor personal injuries.”
Birling resident Nikki White added: “My husband and I were working in the garden and realised something was wrong because we could hear several sirens.
“We hear the odd ambulance heading along the motorway to Maidstone Hospital, but this was clearly something far more seri- ous. Then we saw the air ambulance flying in.
“We often walk out that way and have used the bridge – it’s a miracle nobody was seriously hurt.”