Looking back at the Sheppey Crossing 20 years after it opened for the first time
It was 20 years ago today that the 1.3km-long Sheppey Crossing opened to traffic for the first time. With around a million monthly journeys, it has transformed travel to and from the Island, and it all started with a wedding.
The first members of the public to cross were bride-to-be Kristina Wylie and her father James. They were on their way to meet groom Marc Ackland and guests at Cooling Castle, near Rochester.
At just after 12.30pm, they were escorted by Highways Agency traffic officer and Islander Dave Holmes. More than 150 invited guests, including pupils from nearby schools, who attended the opening ceremony, waved and wished her well. The four-lane crossing, which is 35m high and 21m wide, was built as part of the GBP100 million A249 improvement scheme.
Its aim was to improve access between the M2 and Port of Sheerness - and to make access to Sheppey far easier than it had ever been.
Before it was constructed, drivers had to contend with the adjacent vertical-lift Kingsferry Bridge, which has just one lane each way.
That meant when it let through shipping traffic, there was no way on and off the Island before it went back down - an often long-winded business. Many Islanders remember the stress of leaving for important appointments only to be stuck in queues waiting to get over the Swale. Hospital appointments were often missed while airport runs could become particularly stressful.
Construction started in 2004, with Roads Minister Dr Stephen Ladyman officially opening the crossing on July 3 2006 - it was named by lifelong resident Reg Grimwade.
The crossing has been totally transformative[1] - with easier access came massive development, with thousands of new homes being built and big businesses like Aldi and Morrisons moving onto the Island. To give an idea of how vital the crossing has become, National Highways figures show from April last year to this March, there were 13,254,788 journeys across it. Although its opening was such a happy occasion, the bridge has been the scene of trauma and tragedy.
It made global news on the morning of September 5, 2013, when it was the scene of 'Britain's biggest-ever collision'[2] when 130 vehicles crashed in thick fog on the Sittingbourne-bound carriageway.
Picture: National Police Air Service
Images of the cars, lorries, vans and motorbikes - which spanned about a mile - dominated news reports with the police later saying it was a miracle no one died.
Ten months later, tragedy struck when Deborah Roberts and her eight-year-old son Marshall were fatally injured when their car was struck by a lorry on the same stretch. The following year, a coroner questioned the safety of the crossing, which led to Highways England reducing the speed limit from 70mph to 50mph. However, after a 17-month safety review, this went back to 70mph enforced by cameras as it was found the lower limit increased the number of accidents.
More recently, there was mass confusion after the sudden enforcement of a temporary 50mph limit on the Crossing for the Grovehurst roundabout works.
Picture: Barry Goodwin
Picture: National Highways
Hundreds were fined by the police over the course of December until mid-January after a faulty speed camera was fixed.
Between May 22 and June 18, the Crossing was closed three times because of faulty bridge joints. Not only has the impressive structure been used as a backdrop for keen photographers, but also for music videos - filming for pop star Dua Lipa's 'Levitating' video took place underneath it in 2020. Although the singing sensation did not actually film on Sheppey, the music video has now been viewed on YouTube 1.1 billion times.
Looking back at the past 20 years, a National Highways spokesperson said: "The Sheppey Crossing has transformed travel between the Isle of Sheppey and mainland Kent and remains a powerful catalyst for economic growth.
"The bridge has unlocked huge benefits in the region by improving connections to the ports, boosting tourism and supporting housebuilding and jobs."
Former Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Derek Wyatt (Lab) played a key role in getting the Crossing approved - virtually from the moment he took up office in 1997. He was instrumental in securing government funding and campaigned relentlessly in Parliament for the need for the bridge, highlighting the Island's economic vulnerability.
Mr Wyatt, who represented the constituency until 2010, pointed out the serious traffic congestion and emergency service delays caused by the Kingsferry Bridge. And he took great satisfaction in seeing the project come to fruition - saying it was clear as soon as he got voted in that Sheppey needed a second crossing, with the situation being "critical" because of the lack of emergency medical facilities.
He said: "Ambulances had to come from Chatham and regularly got stuck if the old bridge was up.
"As soon as I got in, I took a group of business people to the Department of Transport and the Minister had no idea where Sheppey was and that it was an Island - which was illuminating." Soon after, it was announced the government was drawing up a list of the most pressing needs for bridges, roads, and tunnels.
"We had about six weeks to put in our bid, and there was a shortlist of 30," he said. "We came 30th out of about 400, so that was it; we got the funding. "There were two setbacks as far as I was concerned. Because we had a Kingsferry Bridge, I wanted it to be called the Queensferry Bridge so we could invite the Queen to open it.
"Another was that there was no lighting.
I'm no engineer, but I don't know why, whether they ran out of money or they felt it wasn't a need."
On the Sunday before the opening, there was an organised walk across the bridge. "It was a wonderful day - about 10,000 people took part. "The crossing has given the Islanders a connection.
Some people had never left.
And it has given people the confidence they needed.
It was an exciting time for Sheppey."
References
- ^ crossing has been totally transformative (www.kentonline.co.uk)
- ^ scene of 'Britain's biggest-ever collision' (www.kentonline.co.uk)