A MAJOR motorway used by thousands of drivers every day unveiled its hated traffic measures for half term.
Operation Brock has commenced on the M20 between junctions eight (Maidstone) and nine(Ashford) by the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum.
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The initiative requires lorries bound for Dover to queue on one side of the M20, while the opposite carriageway carries traffic in both directions.
A diversion route was set up during the installation, with a contraflow also introduced earlier.
HGVs heading towards the Port of Dover or Eurotunnel must follow signs to join Operation Brock at Junction eight of the M20.
All other traffic going to the coast, including local freight, must follow the signs and crossover to enter the contraflow on the motorway.
All traffic that is travelling through the contraflow must adhere to a 50mph speed limit and, while Brock is in effect, the Junction 8 coast-bound slip road will be closed to all traffic.
Those who are planning to head to the Eurotunnel or the port should plan their journeys ahead and check for any updates before heading out.
The system has been described as a “massive inconvenience” for residents, and Kent MPs have questioned whether it is necessary to put it in place during every school holiday.
This will mark the second time that Operation Brock has been deployed in 2025, having been reintroduced ahead of the Easter half term in April.
The Kent and Medway Resilience Forum (KMRF) said the decision was “not taken lightly” and was made to help reduce delays at the Port of Dover and in the surrounding areas during the busy period.
There is also a possibility that the contraflow could be reinstated for the summer holidays as it was in 2024 reports KentLiveNews.
It is yet to be confirmed whether or not the contraflow will make a return for summer 2025, and Kent County Council has said that the KMRF will “take a view on the traffic management needed over the summer months once more accurate data is available.”
However, the government is working on a permanent solution to the problem of congestion at the Port of Dover backing up traffic deep into Kent.
The new system would use a combination of new digital technology and off-road sites to hold HGVs during disruption, but is still in the early planning stages.
It comes after a lorry crash – with a huge oil spill – sparked “severe” hour-long delays.
And traffic came to a halt on a popular motorway after a van caught fire, sparking chaos for bank holiday travellers.
