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M20 reopens in both directions but drivers will still have to pass underneath remaining section of the bridge

Motorway bridge collapsed on Saturday after being hit by a digger on the back of a lorry

James Mills

Published: 10:59, 28 Aug 2016
Updated: 10:31, 29 Aug 2016

HALF of the bridge that crashed down on to a busy motorway was left dangling over traffic yesterday.

Lorries and cars thundered past it along the reopened road.

Traffic going under the bridge today — Traffic going under the bridge todayCredit: PA:Press Association

graphic-p4 — How events unfolded yesterday

The scenes yesterday — The scenes yesterdayCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

M20 bridge collapse — Crews have been working through the night to get the road back open to the publicCredit: Array

Smashed sections of the fallen bridge are loaded onto a giant transporter lorry — Smashed sections of the fallen bridge are loaded onto a giant transporter lorryCredit: London News Pictures

M20 BRIDGE COLLAPSE (28.08.2016) — Giant cranes being used to support the structure. Highways bosses want the road open by lunchtimeCredit: London News Pictures

How was no-one killed? A closer look at the huge overpass which collapsed onto a busy road — How was no-one killed? A closer look at the huge overpass which collapsed onto a busy roadCredit: London News Pictures

M20 BRIDGE COLLAPSE (28.08.2016) — Engineers are helping Highways chiefs investigate the accidentCredit: London News Pictures

M20 bridge crash — A bird's-eye view of the devastation after a digger on the back of a lorry slammed into a bridge as it passedCredit: John McLellan

Carnage on the motorway as a two lorries smashed into a bridge — Carnage on the motorway as a two lorries smashed into a bridgeCredit: i-Images Picture Agency

But Highways England insisted the remainder of the bridge had been made safe.

The M20 in Kent was reopened towards Dover at 4.25pm and the London-bound carriageway followed around an hour later.

The footbridge — between junctions three and four — caused 15 miles of tailbacks when half of it crumbled on Saturday after being hit by a digger on the back of a lorry.

FAMEFLYNET - GV: Chaos On The M20 As A Pedestrian Bridge Collapses Onto The Road — The motorcycle belonging to the 50-year-old man treated for broken ribs after being hit by falling debrisCredit: Fame Flynet

M20 bridge collapse — Paramedics treated a motorcyclist who had a miracle escape after being struck by debris only to break two ribsCredit: WENN

M20 bridge collapse — Thousands of day-trippers face being stuck on the M20 for up to SIX HOURS after cops closed the road in both directionsCredit: WENN

M20 BRIDGE COLLAPSE (28.08.2016) — Eerie empty road this morning as work continued to get the route openCredit: London News Pictures

The wreckage from the incident from above — The wreckage from the incident from aboveCredit: John McLellan

M20 bridge — Motorists stepped out of their cars to examine the carnageCredit: WENN

M20 in Kent — The road is set to be closed until at least tomorrowCredit: John McLellan

M20 bridge collapse — A lorry is trapped under the rubble as emergency services block the road off in both directionsCredit: Robyn Goldsmith-Taylor

Traffic queues build after the footbridge collapsed — Traffic queues build after the footbridge collapsedCredit: John McLellan

A biker who suffered broken ribs after sliding to avoid debris was the only person injured.

Workers toiled overnight to clear the road for the rest of the bank holiday weekend.

Highways England added it was “a complex operation” and the dangling bridge section will be removed in days.

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Kent Police last night confirmed that a digger being transported on the back of an HGV had collided with the pedestrian footbridge between Junction 3 — for Gatwick and the M26 — and Junction 4.

Pictures from the scene showed half of the bridge still hanging over the coast-bound side of the road.

Alex Magaisa was driving his family past the lorry involved on the London-bound stretch as the bridge collapsed at midday.

He said: “My instinct was to just drive through. My wife saw the bridge falling and there was a big noise. I had to manoeuvre through the debris.

“We stopped afterwards for about 30 minutes and there was another car with a family behind us. Luckily no one seemed to have been hurt.”

The Kent University lecturer, 41, had been on his way to Gatwick airport to catch a flight to Belfast to see family.

He added: “It’s a big shock. It’s only just starting to sink in now what might have happened.

“We were in the line of fire and could have been crushed.”

BRIDGE-COLLAPSE-MAP

M20 bridge collapse — Emergency teams close off the roads as huge tailback ruin the bank holidays for thousands of peopleCredit: Twitter / @si1969can

M20 traffic — Tailbacks following the accident stretched for miles before police announced the road would be closed overnightCredit: John McLellan

Stunned on-lookers stare at the scene which looks like something from a disaster movie — Stunned on-lookers stare at the scene which looks like something from a disaster movieCredit: SWNS:South West News Service

M20 bridge collapse — A section of the bridge fell onto the carriageway injuring a cyclistCredit: Sky News

M20 bridge collapse — Highways teams said they expect the road closures to go on for an "extended period"

Footbridge collapses onto the M20 in Kent — The M20 is a popular stretch leading to the channel tunnel in DoverCredit: WENN

A bridge has fallen on traffic on the M20 in Kent

M20 bridge crash — The back of the lorry was torn off in the smashCredit: Sky News

Immediately after the crash stunned motorists left their gridlocked vehicles to get a closer look at the destruction.

Chris, a trainee aerospace procurement officer from Hampshire, added: “My mum and I had to drive under the other half of the bridge which was just hanging there. It looked like it could collapse at any minute. It is quite scary to think back but at the time you just do it.

“There were bits of rubble from the collapse on our side of the road too so everyone had to move into the middle lane.”

Cops have launched an investigation after a major incident was declared on the motorway — which is a key route between London and Dover and the Channel Tunnel near Folkestone.

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Kent