ACTION is needed to address the massive strain being placed on Kent's motorways and other main roads, according to a leading county councillor.

The cabinet member for regeneration, Cllr Alex King (Con), said the strain being placed on the county's major routes was a big concern.

He said: "We have seen over the last 15 years a rate of increase that is way above almost anywhere else in the country. You only have to look at the M20, the M2 or the A2 during the morning and evening rush hours to see they are almost at capacity."

The comments follow an accident on the M20 at Larkfield, near Maidstone, last Monday morning which closed a stretch of the motorway for almost 10 hours, causing traffic chaos in mid-Kent.

Cllr King said: "This has been an increasing concern for a long time. The accident on Monday just highlights the scale of the problem if the motorway is blocked. It is very important for Kent as a whole."

He fears the large volume of traffic could damage business for the Dover port and the Channel Tunnel.

Kent County Council is hoping to meet with representatives of the Highways Agency to discuss problems on the county's motorways.

Cllr King added: "We have to get the Highways Agency to take a realistic approach to traffic management on the M20.

"The Highways Agency needs to look at the capacity on its motorways to make sure they can cope with the traffic."

Cllr King said road widening on the M2 was a positive step but said action was still needed on the M20. He claims road widening schemes similar to the feeder lane system on the M20 at Maidstone had originally been planned for elsewhere on the motorway but were abandoned because of Government efforts to restrict road building."

A Highways Agency spokesman said it was up to the Government rather than the agency to make policy decisions. He added: "In the light of the regional transport plan we will obviously be involved in on-going discussions with the local authority on the future plans just as we are talking to them about current operations."