Dismay over more motorway works, set to last months
Bridge brought down in crash to be replaced
Highways bosses’ handling of roadworks on the M20 has been described as “shambolic”. Engineers will be returning to the motorway next month to replace a footbridge which collapsed when it was hit by a lorry in August 2016.
The structure fell onto the London-bound carriageway between Junction 4 at Leybourne and 3 for Borough Green, when it was struck by a digger being transported on the back of an HGV. Remarkably no one was killed in the incident, which caused £1.5million of damage.
With a replacement bridge planned, Aylesford MP Tracey Crouch says she lobbied for the installation of the new crossing to take place during work on the smart motorway project - which was completed in May. Instead, less than three months after nearly two years of work on the 6.5 mile stretch of the motorway was finished, contractors will be returning to carry out more construction which is not expected to be complete until January.
One lane will be closed in each carriageway throughout, with reduced lane widths and a 50mph speed limit. There will also be some carriageway closures and one full weekend closure to install the new bridge. Ms Crouch said: “It has been a shambolically managed project from the outset and requests to combine works to minimise disruption have been ignored. “Unfortunately Highways England appear to do whatever it likes, when it likes, with little accountability, something that needs to be addressed for future road build projects.”
The decision not to combine the two projects in one has been attributed to the fact it would have increased costs and lengthened disruption for the introduction of the £92m smart motorway between Junctions 3 and 5. A Highways England spokesman said: “Building a new footbridge over the M20 near Maidstone to replace the East Street Bridge is a vital part of our work to ensure that the structures on major roads remain operating safely and reliably for people who depend on them every day. “Since the original footbridge collapsed after being struck by an HGV in 2016, we’ve been busy safely demolishing and preparing proposals to replace it.” Alan Austen, the trucker whose lorry brought down the 170-tonne concrete bridge, avoided jail after admitting dangerous driving. He was given a year-long suspended sentence, 200 hours of community service and a three-year driving ban.