Holiday chaos as bridge crushes two lorries
Motorcyclist injured as M20 collision backs up traffic for 15 miles, causing travellers to miss ferry trips
MOTORISTS had a narrow escape when a bridge collapsed onto the M20 motorway in Kent after being hit by a lorry during the height of the Bank Holiday get-away.
One man was injured when the concrete footbridge collapsed on two lorries on the London-bound carriageway after being struck at about 12:10pm yesterday.
Witnesses said there could easily have been more casualties after the deck of the bridge shattered, sending debris flying over the carriageway.
It is believed that a digger carried on the back of one of the lorries struck the bridge as it passed, causing the deck to sheer away from one of its uprights.
Motorists caught up in the tailbacks spent hours waiting to move before being diverted away from the scene. Queues stretched as far back as 15 miles on the M20, which is the main route to the Channel Tunnel and the Port of Dover. Some travellers were feared to have missed their ferry trips.
The footbridge had previously been closed for engineering work and nobody was thought to have been on it at the time of the accident.
A motorcyclist in his 50s received treatment from paramedics before being taken to hospital in Tunbridge Wells with suspected broken ribs.
An air ambulance and several ambulance crews, police and firefighters rushed to the scene, but the motorcyclist was the only victim.
Motorists last night spoke of their lucky escapes. Alex Magaisa was driving past one of the lorries involved with his wife and two young sons just as the bridge collapsed.
The University of Kent lecturer, 41, said: “My instinct was just to drive through. My wife saw the bridge falling and there was a big noise. I had to manoeuvre through the debris.
“It was a big shock. It’s only just starting to sink in now what might have happened. We were right in the line of fire and we could have been crushed.”
Kelly Conners, from Aylesham, Kent, who was heading to Leatherhead with her partner and her 18-month-old child, said: “We could have been under that bridge. We were about 20 cars away from it. We were just pulling up and my partner said, ‘Look at the bridge, it’s falling down’.”
Traffic on both sides of the carriageway came to a standstill, causing long tailbacks east and westbound on one of the road’s busiest days of the year. Highways England said the M26 in Kent had also been closed eastbound between the M25 junction 25 and M20 J3 to “assist management of traffic”.
The closures forced the cancellation of several local football matches because teams couldn’t arrive in time.