Highways England is consulting on the design details of a proposed new junction on the M20 in Ashford, 18 months after the Government announced its decision to fund the long-awaited project.
The new junction is proposed around 700 metres east of the existing junction 10. It will use two bridges and connect to the existing A20 and a new dual carriageway link road built to the A2070 near Sevington.
The estimated £70m cost of the project is being met by the South East Local Enterprise Partnership and Highways England, with the remaining contributions to be funded by developers in due course.
Highways England project manager Salvatore Zappala said: “The new junction will provide additional capacity for the Ashford area and reduce the congestion at the existing junction 10. A new junction will unlock the potential for future growth in the Ashford area. It’s important we hear from the public and I urge those interested in the scheme to fill in the consultation questionnaire before 17 March.”
A spokesman for Ashford Borough Council said: “The authority is a consultee on this application but we welcome the progress being made on this Nationally Significant Infrastructure project as it is one of the priority projects that we wish to see come forward. It’s important that residents and businesses engage in the consultation process to help shape how best this plan can come to fruition.”
At the time the funding was secured, Ashford MP Damian Green said that junction 10a was one of the most significant advances for the town in 20 years. “It will unlock job-creation developments and will take pressure away from the existing Junction 10. It will bring jobs, better infrastructure for local services and help maintain the quality of life in and around Ashford,” he said.
His enthusiasm was shared by Jo James, Chief Executive of the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce, who said: “So much economic activity has been locked up while we waited for this project to come forward and with this announcement the brakes will finally come off these investments.”
Ashford Borough Council has long campaigned for the delivery of extra road transport capacity to cater for the town’s future needs. Junction 10a is seen as another piece of the borough’s integrated transport infrastructure jigsaw to fall into place. The town already has excellent rail, road, air and sea links providing businesses with easy access to 360 million consumers across Europe.
These include the hugely popular high-speed domestic rail service which links Ashford with London St Pancras in just 38 minutes. The new M20 junction will provide the road capacity needed to enable a major programme of economic and commercial development and house building to proceed.
