M20 Operation Brock controls to be lifted

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 lifted.

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 was activated on 21 May and is to be removed overnight on Saturday.

The Kent Resilience Forum (KRF) said it deployed the system due to increased cross-Channel bookings for tourist traffic and closures of the Roundhill Tunnel on the A20 at Folkestone.

Simon Jones, the KRF strategic lead, said: "Last weekend saw very high tourist numbers heading to the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel, as anticipated by the cross-channel providers and the Department for Transport.

"Operation Brock did the job we needed it to do in holding back freight from the A20 into Dover, allowing local traffic to continue to flow, and avoiding delays on the local road network and, indeed, the main routes to the port."

When Operation Brock is removed, the 50mph speed limit and traffic management will remain London-bound for the time being to allow work on the M20 by National Highways to resume.

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