FIRST they went on then they were off. But this week long-suffering motorists at Junction 10 of the M20 at Ashford are experiencing all 13 sets of new traffic lights back on.

A Highways Agency spokesman said: “We hit a technical snag that affected the sequencing, but our engineers have ironed out the fault and all the lights are fully operational.”

Last week the completion of junction improvements was marred when the lights had to be switched off as engineers grappled with the fault.

Thousands of motorists who use the busy junction each day experienced long delays until the fault was fixed.

Traffic flow at the junction during construction has been a long-running issue for drivers. Many believed traffic moved better when the lights were off..

More than 1,200 motorists signed the Kentish Express’s Junction 10: Keep it Moving petition, calling for a solution to improve the traffic flows.

However, the Agency decided to install lights for “safety reasons.”

Work on the £7 million scheme started last September with junction approaches being widened and more circulatory lanes added.

The Highways Agency spokesman added: “We always knew there could be snags with the lights, as they often require adjustments to get the sequencing right.”