Operation Brock to lift during overnight closure

A section of the motorway will close overnight for the removal of the contraflow system

A stretch of the M20 in Kent is to close overnight for the Operation Brock contraflow system to be removed.

The traffic-holding measure for lorries queueing to cross the English Channel was set to be deactivated between 20:00 on Sunday and 06:00 BST on Monday.

The road will be closed between junctions eight and nine, heading towards London, and junctions seven and nine heading towards the coast.

A Kent and Medway Resilience Forum (KMRF) spokesperson said the removal of Operation Brock, which was deployed on 16 July, was due to a decrease in expected tourist traffic.

Once the system, between Maidstone and Ashford, has been dismantled, the motorway will reopen with three carriages on each side of the road and the national speed limit back in place.

A spokesperson for National Highways said: "These times have been chosen to minimise disruption to road users and ensure the roads are suitable for the traffic."

Drivers are being advised to follow diversion signs over their SatNav instructions.

Traffic management plans will remain in place in Dover to deal with any unexpected disruption, the KMRF added.

Longer-term solutions

The contraflow system is used to hold freight traffic heading towards LeShuttle in Folkestone and the Port of Dover.

It is is funded by the Department for Transport (DfT), with decisions on its use made by the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum (KMRF).

A BBC Freedom of Information (FoI) request to National Highways revealed Operation Brock cost more than £2.7m to roll out across 10 occasions between 2019-2024.

Toby Howe, highways and transport strategic resilience manager at the KMRF, previously said tourist traffic was "causing huge chaos" in Dover.

The DfT said it was looking at longer-term solutions, which could include off-road sites.

A KMRF spokesperson said it was "committed" to removing the system "as soon as the data showed that would be possible and we are pleased to deliver on that promise".

It said its work with central government to identify a better traffic management solution would continue.