The Highways Agency has today opened the £120 million improvement scheme for the A2/A282 at Dartford five months ahead of schedule.

This scheme has been completed in time for the annual Christmas holiday getaway.

The Highways Agency scheme involved widening the A2 from three to four lanes between Bean and its junction with the M25/A282, a total distance of 1.5 miles. It also included the construction of link roads from the M25/A282 in the north to the A2 in the east.

The Roads Minister Tom Harris welcomed the opening of the new lanes. He said: "By using innovative traffic management technology, the Highways Agency and its contractors have finished this scheme five months earlier than planned, bringing significant benefits to the thousands of drivers who use this busy route every day.

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"The new lanes will reduce congestion, improve safety and deliver better journey time reliability. Importantly, thanks to the use of these innovative techniques, the project has also been completed on budget."

Using the new Quick Movable Barrier system the Highways Agency shaved five months off the duration of the project. This innovative machine can lift 12 tons of concrete safety barriers into place at a speed of 7mph. This allowed the Highways Agency to change the layout of the works quickly and keep more lanes open for drivers during peak periods, as well as providing a higher level of safety protection for both workers and road-users.

The nearby £62 million pound scheme to widen the M25 between junctions 1b and 3, south of the Dartford Crossing, continues and once completed will provide an additional fourth lane along this 4 mile stretch of motorway.

(GK/JM)