Kentish Express Ashford & District
Replacement M20 bridge now open
A new footbridge over the M20 is now fully open to the public.
The East Street Bridge opened last week - more than four years after the original bridge between Junctions 4, for Leybourne, and 3, for Borough Green, had to be demolished after it was struck by an HGV carrying a digger in August 2016.
The new 16-metre long bridge for cyclists and pedestrians was lifted into place in November at Addington last year when a new pedestrian access ramp on the southern side was also fitted.
The bridge platform which weighed more than 53 tonnes was manufactured by SH Structures, based in North Yorkshire.
The bridge platform was transported to Kent in two pieces. Both sections measured 8.5 metres long and 7.6 metres wide. They were joined together in the air and lifted into place as one.
Peter Philips from Highways England said: “It’s great news that this footbridge is now open for use.
“I’m very grateful to everyone
who has worked so hard to get this bridge open again and I’d like to thank everyone living in the area for their patience while the work took place.”
The replacement bridge is believed to have cost £1.5m.
The East Street footbridge was struck by a lorry carrying a digger, causing around £1.5m worth of damage, on August 27, 2016.
The crash, on the bank holiday Saturday, brought 170 tonnes of concrete onto the London-bound carriageway when the route was
being used by millions of drivers.
Motorcyclist Jim Shaw, 73, escaped with minor injuries after skidding sideways at 70mph beneath the falling debris on the motorway.
The bridge also crushed two lorries, a Hitachi excavator and a lorry and trailer, both worth £150,000.
The new bridge covers the same footprint as the old one and some of the existing foundations were re-used.