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M20 Reopens After Bridge Collapse Causes Chaos

The M20 motorway has reopened after a pedestrian bridge collapsed onto the carriageway on one of the year's busiest travel days.

Kent Police and Highways England said that a section of the bridge, weighing 170 tonnes, was brought down by a digger being transported on the back of a lorry.

The drama happened between junctions 3 and 4 on the London-bound carriageway northwest of Maidstone at around midday on Saturday.

A motorcyclist, in his 50s, was taken to hospital with suspected broken ribs after being caught up in the accident.

His injuries are not life-threatening.

Police said that part of the bridge had fallen on a second lorry whose driver had been treated at the scene for shock.

The driver of the lorry carrying the digger is not believed to have been injured.

After working through the night, crews were able to reopen the eastbound carriageway just after 4.30pm on Sunday - the side of the road which has half of the bridge still intact.

The westbound road followed at around 5.45pm.

Video footage on Saturday showed the top of a lorry's trailer sheared off, and debris littering the carriageway.

University lecturer Alex Magaisa was driving past the lorry involved when the bridge came down.

He, his wife and their two young sons were on their way to Gatwick Airport and then Belfast to visit family.

Mr Magaisa, 41, said: "My instinct was just to drive through.

"My wife saw the bridge falling and there was a big noise.

"I had to manoeuvre through the debris."

He said the collapse was "a big shock", adding: "We were right in the line of fire and we could have been crushed."

Kalpana Fitzpatrick, who had been driving on the motorway, told Sky News from the scene on Saturday: "What we can see is two trucks squashed by this bridge and emergency services are at the scene.

"There are quite a lot of people just walking around the motorway not knowing what is going on.

"The side I'm on, the bridge is still hanging, and obviously the traffic has been stopped. It's quite shocking."

The M20 is the main route to the Port of Dover and the Channel Tunnel.

Highways England said the closure affected the M20 between junctions one and four, causing tailbacks several miles long on Saturday.