By Hayley Robinson

Traffic jams on the M2 following an accident are set to become a thing of the past.

Work began at the weekend to install three emergency gates in the central reservation between junction 5 of the M2 at Sittingbourne and junction 6 at Faversham.

Once the work is completed - which is expected to be mid March, the police will be able to divert motorists across the M2 to the other side through the gaps so drivers can continue with their journey and not be trapped in delays.

The gates will also allow additional access for emergency and incident support vehicles to deal with any incidents.

John Burns, Highways Agency route performance manager for Kent, said: "We are always looking at ways in which we can minimise the impact of major incidents on drivers.

"The Highways Agency tells drivers when there has been a major incident so they can delay their journey or take an alternative route. However, some drivers are unlucky enough to get caught behind incidents and these new gates will give us an additional opportunity to keep traffic moving.

"The gates will allow traffic to transfer from one carriage way to the other in a controlled and permitted manner when incidents happen."