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Medway in the 21st century
Two major developments to the local infrastructure were
completed in 2003: Improvements to the M2 motorway and construction
of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.
Work started in 2000 on the widening of the A2/M2 between Cobham
and Junction 4 and involved:
- the excavation of 7million cubic metres of earth;
- the use of 3,050 cubic metres of concrete;
- the use of 9,955 tonnes of steel reinforcement;
- the use of 3,725 tonnes of structural steel in bridge
decks;
- the crushing and re-use of 206,100 cubic metres of old road and
bridges;
- the erection of 1,240 lighting columns.
The project included the construction of the 1km Medway Bridge,
which runs 30 metres over the river and is sandwiched within 20
metres of the existing Medway Bridge and the Channel Tunnel Rail
Link Bridge, and the construction of 30 other bridges.
Transport Minister David Jamieson officially opened the
completed 17km widening scheme on 30 July 2003 and stated, "This
scheme heralds a new age for people living in the North Kent
corridor. It will make developments like Kent Thameside more
accessible and will create new employment and access to jobs
through better links across the south-east, between London and the
rest of Europe”. Work started on the first phase of the Channel
Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) in October 1998. This is the 74km Section 1
from the Channel Tunnel to Fawkham Junction in North Kent.
Union Railways (South) Ltd (URS) formally took over Section 1
from Rail Link Engineering (RLE) at a ceremony on 22 August 2003 by
signing the handover certificate. Commercial services started as
scheduled on 28 September 2003.
During safety tests on 30 July 2003, Eurostar had shattered the
speed record for the fastest ever train in the UK when it reached
208mph running on Section 1 through Kent.
The final section of the CTRL, now called High Speed 1, was
completed in the summer of 2007. Linking North Kent with St Pancras
International station in central London, High Speed 1 opened on
time and within budget on 14 November 2007. Journeys between Paris
and London now take two hours 15 minutes, instead of the two hours
35 minutes they took before. St Pancras International station is
the international terminus for Eurostar services and high-speed
domestic services now run from St Pancras to Medway and Kent
too.
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