Recent wet weather has been blamed for a large hole opening up in the central reservation of the M2 in Kent last week. The 5m deep 'dene hole' measuring 2m across by 5m led to the closure of the motorway between junctions 5 and 6 near Sittingbourne.

Work to repair the hole will be complete by Thursday. At present two lanes are open past the hole in each direction, using the hard shoulder and lane one. 

The Highways Agency said yesterday that the dene hole is man made and may have been used to mine chalk hundreds of years ago. The hole was filled when the M2 was built, but recent wet weather contributed to the destabilisation of the ground causing the hole to appear.

Highways Agency asset delivery manager Simon Duke said: "Our investigations are complete and the hole has been stabilised, meaning that traffic can safely use all lanes of the M2."

The hole was discovered as part of a Highways Agency maintenance contractor’s daily checks last Tuesday. It was initially filled with 40t of pea shingle to provide stability and allow further assessment.

An Agency spokesperson said last week: “Situations like this are extremely rare, but safety is our top priority and we constantly monitor our network.

“We have taken the opportunity to fully investigate between junctions 5 and 6 for any other potential issues and there were none."

(Photos: Highways Agency)

To return to the newsletter, please close this window.