Operation Brock rolled out ahead of bank holiday

Operation Brock sees lorries heading to Dover queue on one side of the M20, with the other carriageway operating as a contraflow.

A traffic-holding system for lorries queueing to cross the English Channel is to be deployed this weekend ahead of the Spring Bank Holiday.

Operation Brock sees lorries heading to Dover queue on one side of the M20, with the other carriageway operating as a contraflow.

It covers a 13-mile section of the motorway between junctions eight (Maidstone) and nine (Ashford).

The contraflow will be activated at 06:00 BST on Sunday.

The Kent Resilience Forum (KRF) said the decision had been driven by significantly increased cross-Channel bookings for tourist traffic and the ongoing closures of the Roundhill Tunnel on the A20 at Folkestone.

Simon Jones, the KRF strategic lead, said the decision to install Operation Brock had “not been taken lightly”.

“The passenger forecasts from both Eurotunnel and the Port of Dover indicate an extremely busy period for cross-Channel traffic over the bank holiday weekend at the end of May,” he said.

“This also coincides with schools in the UK breaking up for half term, and we know that many families will be heading across the Channel to enjoy holidays in Europe."

The contraflow is expected to remain in place until the weekend of the 3 and 4 June.