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Further disruption in Dover as lorries clog up M20 and A2 and town's roads

There are still long delays at Port of Dover this morning and HGV drivers remain stuck in queues on the M20 due to Operation Brock.

Yesterday, the chaos saw Dover at gridlock when lorries snarled up the town as hauliers littered streets with their vehicles as they queued to get to the port.

Lorries queuing at the Port of Dover. Picture: Stuart Brock
Lorries queuing at the Port of Dover. Picture: Stuart Brock

People living there reported they were unable able to use their cars and get out of the town because the stagnant queues were stationary for hours.

This morning there are still queues of congestion in the area but the situation is slightly better.

There is very slow traffic around Brenley Corner on the M2 coastbound due to traffic management.

Police are stopping lorries from bypassing the holding area.

Long queues of lorries at the Port of Dover. Picture: Stuart Brock
Long queues of lorries at the Port of Dover. Picture: Stuart Brock

The A2 Jubilee Way coastbound is closed again today to prevent HGVs trying to bypass the holding areas from A256 Whitfield Hill and roundabout to A20 Eastern Docks roundabout.

There is also no access from the A256 coming out of the port, but traffic officers may let the occasional local car through closure points, but only for locals and not any port traffic.

Vehicles have been stationary for hours on roads in Dover yesterday. Picture: UKNIP
Vehicles have been stationary for hours on roads in Dover yesterday. Picture: UKNIP

Ferry firm DFDS say there are no delays on their Calais to Dover sailings at the moment and say it is only freight traffic queuing on the roads and those vehicles are sticking to one lane approaching the port.

A tweet said there were still delays within the port at Border Control, but there were no queues at their DFDS check in terminal.

However, there are still delays around the port because of the introduction of Operation Brock, which has been brought in due to the disruption to cross-Channel ferry services caused by the ongoing saga of P&O which sacked 800 workers and cancelled ferry services.

There are still miles and miles of queues on the M20 which is closed coastbound due to it being used to hold lorries heading for channel crossings between Junction 8 for Leeds Castle and Maidstone Services and Junction 9 for Ashford.

The coastbound carriageway is only to be used by freight traffic as it's closed for everyone else. The London-bound side remains open to all traffic.

There is a diversion for non-freight traffic which takes people on to the A20 and all freight comes off at Junction 8 and is then be sent back down into the holding areas.

“No communication at all from port staff..."

Yesterday, residents were unable to use their cars to leave Dover or to head out for shopping or medical appointments, while those unfortunate to be stuck in the stagnant queues were stationary for hours with no sign of movement.

Some people had waits of up to eight hours to get onto ferries at Dover.

Nick Gale, a teacher from Kent travelling with his family to Calais for a trip to Amsterdam, said they had been stuck for “over two hours” on Saturday and missed the ferry they were booked on.

“No communication at all from port staff," he said. "Policeman said it was basically the perfect storm, less ferries plus bad weather and (the) P&O issue.”

P&O ferries remain out of action but DFDS is running service from the port but yesterday there were delays due to adverse weather conditions, with customers advised not to travel to the port unless "absolutely essential".

Natalie Elphicke MP at the Port of Dover
Natalie Elphicke MP at the Port of Dover

Yesterday, Dover MP Natalie Elphicke said she was going to put pressure on the Kent Resilience Forum to keep Dover clear with active roads management while the situation continues.

She added: "The Easter getaway traffic the situation has become severe. This can be expected to continue for the next few days.

“The problems have caused an unacceptable impact on our community, particularly at Whitfield, Aycliffe, Capel-Le-Ferne and in Dover town itself."

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