Kentish Express Ashford & District
Junction delay sparks
Highways bosses admit Junction 10a will not open before the Brexit deadline on October 31, sparking fears of traffic chaos across the town.
Contractors initially said the huge £104m project on the M20 would open to traffic this month, but delays to the scheme have pushed it back.
There are fears the hold-up could spell disaster for the surrounding road system after plans were revealed for a temporary HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) customs station at the Waterbrook truckstop in Sevington, which sits just off the A2070 not far from the current Junction 10.
The government wants to use the site as a checkpoint to allow lorry drivers with incorrect paperwork to pick up permits for onwards travel following Brexit, but there are concerns it will only add to disruption if Junction 10a is not open.
Highways England says it plans to partly open the junction to allow lorries heading to the truckstop to use it, but that not all traffic will be able to access the roundabout. Project manager Tom Selby revealed the delay at a meeting of the joint transportation board (JTB) at Ashford Borough Council last Tuesday. “Being open for traffic on October 31 won’t be do-able,” he said.
“We’ve had some
‘I was very concerned to learn that the Ashford site will be used for in-bound lorries that come across the Dover straits’
delays which wouldn’t be appropriate to go into in this meeting.
“Trucks will be able to come from the coast and London-bound and use the new link roads to the truckstop but that’ll be under certain conditions.
“I know that’s not quite what you wanted to hear but that’s where we are at the moment.”
Ashford MP Damian Green met with the Treasury minister and officials from HMRC on Tuesday to discuss the situation.
He said: “I was very con