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Traffic 'flowing normally' in Dover amid amber alert for congestion at the ports

Traffic is reportedly 'flowing normally' at the Port of Dover this morning after an amber alert for congestion was put in place yesterday.

The port says roads leading to the Eastern Docks, such as the A20, are moving freely and travellers are 'efficiently' passing through French border controls.

The A20 in Dover is clear this morning. Picture: KM
The A20 in Dover is clear this morning. Picture: KM

Dover TAP had been put in place this morning, but has since been stood down.

The protocol is to prevent port-bound traffic from disrupting the local road network and the A20 through Dover town.

Stagecoach however says its 63 service is unable to serve the docks due to traffic building up.

Eurotunnel at Folkestone says departures are on time and check-in is running smoothly.

It does warn there there is currently a slightly longer than usual wait for processing at border controls in France.

Operation Brock remains in place on the M20.

Rail strikes, which have seen almost all services in the county cancelled, continue today.

It comes as an amber alert was put in place yesterday by the AA - the first warning of its kind to be issued - with drivers told to expect severe congestion on the roads.

Dover and Folkestone were predicted to bear the brunt of the build ups, which is expected to peak between 11am and 3pm.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said: “With holiday let switchover day starting on Friday mixed with train strikes and a huge weekend of sport, we are concerned that drivers will experience delays across the network, with the south of England particularly vulnerable.

The queues at the Port of Dover last Friday. Picture: Barry Goodwin
The queues at the Port of Dover last Friday. Picture: Barry Goodwin

“All eyes will be on Dover and Folkestone, but we believe changes have been made throughout the week and we will keep our fingers crossed for a smoother trip across the Channel.

“Breakdowns can make jams worse and last weekend we saw a rise in breakdowns where vehicle checks had not been carried out before setting off."

The prediction comes following a week of misery on the east Kent network leading up to the port and Eurotunnel.

Last Friday, Dover's roads ground to a halt, with holidaymakers stuck in their cars for hours on end. The chaos continued until Sunday, with parts of the M20 closed and diversions put in place.

CEO of the Port of Dover told KentOnline yesterday that teams have "worked very hard during the course of the week to install new processes".

He said 9,000 cars are expected through the port today.

Speaking of the reason for major queues last week - which were initially blamed on staffing levels on the French side - he said: "I don’t think that we got to the bottom of what happened or why it didn’t happen, in a way that doesn’t particularly matter because what we’ve done is we’ve had some very good discussions during the course of the week.

"They have got their manpower plans in place and I have confidence in those plans and I think the proof in the pudding is how it all functioned today and driven from the very top of the organisation as well as the guys and gals on the ground down here really pulling out all the stops to make sure that the traffic through the border was as effective as possible."

Mr Bannister said he has "high confidence for the rest of the weekend and indeed for the rest of the summer".

He added: "I’m sure the AA put their amber warning out with good intentions but they didn’t put any guidance out as to what it actually means or how they come up with that warning so I don’t really know where it is driven from. And certainly they also didn’t speak with us when they put it out to understand where we thought it would be.

"As long as we continue to execute against our plan the way we have it and as long as French police continue to do the very good work they have been doing today, then I’m anticipating it will all go smoothly."

Travellers are still warned to plan ahead, check waiting times with operators and pack food and water.

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