Kentish Express Ashford & District
Smart motorway work finishes
Work to create a smart motorway on part of the M20 has been completed.
Drivers using the road between Junction 3 for the M26 and Junction 5 for Aylesford are advised to be aware of the changes to the 6.5-mile stretch of the motorway.
The £92 million scheme has seen the hard shoulder of the highway converted into a regular traffic lane, with technology in place to monitor and regulate the flow of traffic.
This will create extra capacity on the motorway in this section, but safety concerns have been raised because of the risk of closing space to stop in the event of an accident or breakdown.
Earlier this year it was reported the new smart motorway would not open to the public until a government safety review was concluded.
Tracey Crouch, MP for Chatham and Aylesford, has previously expressed her disappointment at the fact introduction of stopped vehicle detection technology on this stretch of the road could take three years.
Concerns about accidents and safety were raised after figures showed there had been 38 deaths on smart motorways in five years.
In 2017, Steven Godbold was hit and killed by a lorry on the M25 near Sevenoaks in 2017.
On Wednesday [yesterday] morning, Ms Crouch once again stated her concerns about safety on the motorway and promised she would keep fighting for additional safety measures.
She said: “I am disappointed to see that the new stretch of smart motorway on the M20 has opened, before the extra safety measures to detect stopped vehicles in live lanes have been fitted. “It is fortunate in many respects that it is being done at a time with less traffic on the road but I still fear for the future.
“In the meantime I will continue to campaign for the technology to be installed as soon as possible.”
Motorists have faced months of roadworks and a 50mph limit on the motorway to allow highways contractors to complete the work.