Hotorway in bridge collapse reopens

A MOTORWAY has partially reopened more than 24 hours after a footbridge collapsed, sparking hours of traffic chaos on one of the busiest weekends of the year.

Traffic can now use the eastbound carriageway of the M20 in Kent, Highways England said, after a stretch between junctions one and four was cleared following Saturday’s accident.

The reopening was several hours later than planned and Highways England said the westbound carriageway of the motorway, which links London with the Channel Tunnel and the Port of Dover, remained closed following the incident close to where it meets the M26.

The bridge came down between junctions three and four after noon on Saturday when it was hit by a digger being transported on the back of a lorry.

A motorcyclist in his 50s was taken to hospital in Tunbridge Wells with suspected broken ribs following the incident while the driver of the lorry was treated for shock at the scene.

On Saturday it had been declared as a major incident. Alex Magaisa was driving past the lorry involved just as the bridge collapsed, with his wife and two young sons in the car.

They were on their way to Gatwick Airport to catch a flight to Belfast to see family for the bank holiday weekend.

The university 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.”