M20 closure causing long delays as M25 reopens

There are delays on the M20 after a damaged bridge joint was found during overnight roadworks

Part of the M20 is closed near Maidstone after overnight roadworks were not lifted on schedule.

The coastbound carriageway of the motorway is shut between junction seven (Detling Interchange) and junction eight (Hollingbourne).

National Highways said "a damaged bridge joint was identified impacting all three lanes" during the works.

The M25 was also closed clockwise on Monday after a tipper truck "struck a bridge" between Swanley and Orpington. It has since reopened.

The crash "resulted in a spillage of hydraulic fluid", according to National Highways.

It also necessitated a structural inspection of the bridge, between junction three, which joins the M20, and junction four.

No injuries were reported.

National Highways said it was "working on arranging emergency replacement work to occur as soon as possible" so it could lift the M20 closure.

The agency said the bridge joint needed fully replacing and it could not give an estimated reopening time for the motorway.

Motorists have been advised to use the diversion route marked with a hollow circle on signs and for Dover-bound traffic to use the A2/M2 route instead.