MPs call for quiet motorway

Two MPs have united to try to prevent motorway improvements affecting local lives.

Residents near junction three to five of the M20 have been living with an increasingly loud motorway, after trees acting as a sound barrier between the carriageways and nearby homes were cut in February.

Highways England had pledged to resurface just two of four lanes to reduce the sound impact.

But Tonbridge and Malling MP Tom Tugendhat, together with Aylesford MP Tracey Crouch, have called for further mitigation.

The Tory MPs have written to Jim O’Sullivan, chief executive of Highways England, calling for all lanes to be re-surfaced during construction of the new smart motorway system.

Once completed in 2020, the £92million scheme will add an extra lane of traffic by replacing the hard shoulder, while Highways England also plans to build five emergency refuge areas, emergency roadside telephones and CCTV cameras.

In a joint statement, the MPs said: “Since Highways England began works, a number of trees have been cut down to allow for construction.

“This will be mitigated by a very quiet road surface.

“However, Highways England only plan to do part of the road, and not two of the four lanes.

“We have written to their chief executive to ask for a rethink.

“It seems sensible to do all the lanes while the works are taking place, particularly as the existing surface is nearing the end of its useful life and the other lanes are being completed. Let’s hope Highways England bosses see sense.”