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Highways bosses say decision to keep M20 contraflow Operation Brock taken on week by week

Highways bosses say they will decide whether to keep a contraflow system in place on the M20 on a week-by-week basis.

Officers said they will carry out a "rolling weekly review" of Operation Brock, which has been put in place on the motorway this week in case the UK crashes out of the EU with no deal.

A no-deal Brexit could cause travel chaos in Kent if lorries bound for the Port of Dover are subject to longer customs checks, causing a huge backlog of vehicles, which would then be parked on the M20.

Operation Brock was brought into force this week

Highways bosses said they were "content" with how motorists had coped with the new system introduced on Monday, which has seen part of the London-bound carriageway split to allow traffic to travel in both directions.

Yet there has been some travel disruption this afternoon on the route - between junctions 8 for Maidstone and 9 for Ashford - with one of the two lanes blocked by an accident and again later due to a broken down lorry.

Meanwhile, the coastbound carriageway has remained virtually empty, having been set aside for lorries to queue on their way into Dover.

Yet getting rid of the scheme is likely to take up a whole weekend, with bosses warning it is "not designed to be activated and deactivated at the flip of a switch".

The contraflow system, dubbed Operation Brock, has been put in place on the M20 (8081520)
The contraflow system, dubbed Operation Brock, has been put in place on the M20 (8081520)

John Kerner, the Highways England director responsible for implementing Operation Brock, said the decision to keep the scheme active will be decided on a weekly basis.

Speaking outside a meeting of the Kent Resilience Forum, he said: "If it's considered later on this week that it's still required for next week then it will stay on.

"At some point in the future there will be a decision to deactivate it, putting it back to normal traffic running coastbound and three lanes of traffic with the 24km of barrier on the London-bound carriageway. That takes time to enact as well.

"It's not designed to be activated and deactivated at the flip of a switch.

The contraflow system, dubbed Operation Brock, has been put in place on the M20
The contraflow system, dubbed Operation Brock, has been put in place on the M20

"It takes a little bit of planning and preparation beforehand and as teams do it more frequently then the work rates will improve and it will be done more quickly.

"We're likely to maintain activation and deactivation over the weekends to minimise disruption on road users in Kent."

Kent Police said that it was ready to deal with the possibility of protest marches and the risk of civil disorder caused by Brexit.

Assistant chief constable Peter Ayling said: “It does not give us cause for concern.

"I think the public would expect us to have a really clear threat assessment - one that we respond to and ensure that we have the resources to respond to any emerging issue.

"There is no specific intelligence for Kent and it is not something we are expecting but as the weekend has shown on both sides of the Brexit argument there are very strong feelings and we can reasonably expect lawful protests will continue.

"We have not seen that move to disorder but it is something we continue to monitor and those that wish to exercise their right to protest we work with to ensure they can do so in a peaceful and ordinary way.”

How is Brexit going to affect Kent? For all the latest news, views and analysis visit our dedicated page here.

Head to our politics page for expert analysis and all the latest news from your politicians and councils.

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