Latest news with #OperationBrock
The Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Major motorway to CLOSE this evening for vital works with diversion in place
A MAJOR motorway will close this evening for essential roadworks. The road is used by up to 120,000 people per day. 5 5 5 The M20 motorway will be closed this evening for vital works taking place between 8pm and 6am overnight. The closure will take place in both directions between Junctions four and seven. Junction four offers drivers exits for Rochester, meanwhile Junction 7 does so for Maidstone. The closure covers the road's carriageways, slip roads and lanes for planned barrier works. A National Highway spokesperson said: "These times have been chosen to minimise disruption to road users and ensure the roads are suitable for the traffic.' This comes after other parts of the M20 were closed for the same period last night. Westbound, the road was closed between Junctions 9 and 8, between Ashford and Lenham respectively. Eastbound, the closure extended even further from Junction 9 to Junction 7. Signed diversions were put in place to guide drivers to their destination using nearby roads. Both sides of the road were re-opened today, with the usual national speed limit being re-implemented. Drivers warned of travel chaos this Bank Holiday amid M20 closures These closures took place to remove barriers for a contraflow which had been put in place over the bank holiday, to accommodate for heavy traffic during the school holidays. These were rolled out as part of an initiative called Operation Brock. This is a traffic holding system which enables lorries to queue for English Channel crossings. Under Operation Brock, Dover -bound lorries queue on one side of the M20. Meanwhile on the other side of the carriageway, a contraflow enables traffic to run in both directions. The Operation was originally designed for use if the UK had left the European Union with a no-deal Brexit. It is implemented by a group of local authorities called the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum (KMRF). Today, the BBC has released new data on the system's cost to the taxpayer. Its use over the bank holiday weekend will have cost between £100,000 to £250,000. Across 10 occasions when Operation Brock has been used between 2019 and 2024, it has required more than £2.7 million in funding. Simon Jones, KMRF strategic lead for border disruption, told the BBC that it was never done "without having clear data of increased border crossings to inform our planning". He said: "Until the government agrees permanent, long-term solutions to tackle disruption on Kent's roads and delays at the border during busy periods, Operation Brock is the only option available." 5
Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Scottish Sun
Major motorway to CLOSE this evening for vital works with diversion in place
This is the road's second major overnight closure in a row MOTOR MAYHEM Major motorway to CLOSE this evening for vital works with diversion in place – check your route A MAJOR motorway will close this evening for essential roadworks. The road is used by up to 120,000 people per day. 5 Lorry drivers waiting on the M20 in Kent Credit: Alamy 5 Operation Brock in action Credit: Alamy 5 Lorry drivers often face delays waiting for ferries in Dover Credit: Getty The M20 motorway will be closed this evening for vital works taking place between 8pm and 6am overnight. The closure will take place in both directions between Junctions four and seven. Junction four offers drivers exits for Rochester, meanwhile Junction 7 does so for Maidstone. The closure covers the road's carriageways, slip roads and lanes for planned barrier works. A National Highway spokesperson said: "These times have been chosen to minimise disruption to road users and ensure the roads are suitable for the traffic.' This comes after other parts of the M20 were closed for the same period last night. Westbound, the road was closed between Junctions 9 and 8, between Ashford and Lenham respectively. Eastbound, the closure extended even further from Junction 9 to Junction 7. Signed diversions were put in place to guide drivers to their destination using nearby roads. Both sides of the road were re-opened today, with the usual national speed limit being re-implemented. Drivers warned of travel chaos this Bank Holiday amid M20 closures These closures took place to remove barriers for a contraflow which had been put in place over the bank holiday, to accommodate for heavy traffic during the school holidays. These were rolled out as part of an initiative called Operation Brock. This is a traffic holding system which enables lorries to queue for English Channel crossings. Under Operation Brock, Dover-bound lorries queue on one side of the M20. Meanwhile on the other side of the carriageway, a contraflow enables traffic to run in both directions. The Operation was originally designed for use if the UK had left the European Union with a no-deal Brexit. It is implemented by a group of local authorities called the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum (KMRF). Today, the BBC has released new data on the system's cost to the taxpayer. Its use over the bank holiday weekend will have cost between £100,000 to £250,000. Across 10 occasions when Operation Brock has been used between 2019 and 2024, it has required more than £2.7 million in funding. Simon Jones, KMRF strategic lead for border disruption, told the BBC that it was never done "without having clear data of increased border crossings to inform our planning". He said: "Until the government agrees permanent, long-term solutions to tackle disruption on Kent's roads and delays at the border during busy periods, Operation Brock is the only option available." 5 Port of Dover traffic builds up due to border controls checks being carry out in Dover Credit: Getty
The Irish Sun
3 days ago
- Automotive
- The Irish Sun
Major motorway to CLOSE this evening for vital works with diversion in place
A MAJOR motorway will close this evening for essential roadworks. The Advertisement 5 Lorry drivers waiting on the M20 in Kent Credit: Alamy 5 Operation Brock in action Credit: Alamy 5 Lorry drivers often face delays waiting for ferries in Dover Credit: Getty The The closure will take place in both directions between Junction four offers drivers exits for The closure covers the road's carriageways, Advertisement Read more Motors A This comes after other parts of the M20 were closed for the same period last night. Westbound, the road was closed between Junctions 9 and 8, between Ashford and Eastbound, the closure extended even further from Junction 9 to Junction 7. Advertisement Most read in Motors Signed diversions were put in place to guide drivers to their destination using nearby roads. Both sides of the road were re-opened today, with the usual national Drivers warned of travel chaos this Bank Holiday amid M20 closures These closures took place to remove barriers for a These were rolled out as part of an initiative called Advertisement This is a traffic holding system which enables Under Operation Brock, Dover-bound lorries queue on one side of the M20. Meanwhile on the other side of the carriageway, a contraflow enables traffic to run in both directions. The Operation was originally designed for use if the UK had left the European Union with a no-deal Brexit. Advertisement It is implemented by a group of local authorities called the Today, the BBC has released Its use over the bank holiday weekend will have cost between £100,000 to £250,000. Across 10 occasions when Operation Brock has been used between 2019 and 2024, it has required more than £2.7 million in funding. Advertisement Simon Jones, KMRF strategic lead for border disruption, told the BBC that it was never done "without having clear data of increased border crossings to inform our planning". He said: "Until the government agrees permanent, long-term solutions to tackle disruption on Kent's roads and delays at the border during busy periods, Operation Brock is the only option available." 5 Port of Dover traffic builds up due to border controls checks being carry out in Dover Credit: Getty 5 Barriers for Operation Brock were removed between J7-9 on Tuesday night Credit: Getty Advertisement
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Kent: Is Operation Brock on the M20 worth the money?
Operation Brock is the traffic-holding system for lorries queueing to cross the English Channel that has divided opinion since its behind the scheme say it saves surrounding roads and communities from being impacted whenever there are delays at the Port of Dover or critics of the M20 contraflow say it is too expensive - the cost of deploying it ranging from £100,000 to £250,000.A BBC Freedom of Information request to National Highways revealed Operation Brock cost more than £2.7m to roll out across 10 occasions between 2019-2024. In that time, it cost between £795,000 and £175,000 each time the system was put in by a group of local authorities called the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum (KMRF), Brock sees Dover-bound lorries queue on one side of the motorway while the other carriageway is split between traffic travelling in both in 2019, it has since been set up between junctions eight (Maidstone) and nine (Ashford) during periods of anticipated high traffic, such as public holidays and major events. Most recently rolled out for the May Bank Holiday weekend, it was due to be removed overnight on Tuesday having failed to win over some Dover residents."Saturday morning was chaos," said Nikki Bushell from Aycliffe."A lot of the lorries end up blocking key routes and roundabouts and nobody can get out."When it works it's great, but when it doesn't it's hell for local residents."Something more needs to be done, especially when it costs that much each time." Robin Burkhardt, who used to run an antique shop on Snargate Street, said heavy port traffic "destroyed his business". "We had to close up last December because everyone ended up staying away from the area - it caused the town to suffer," he Mitchell, who lives along the M20, said when Brock was in place there was disruption on the roads and lorries were "thundering through" residential said: "I think it's an absolutely disgusting waste of money and quite honestly a sledgehammer to crack a nut."Ms Mitchell said a better solution "should have been put in place much earlier"."It's not doing what it should do, and that's keeping Kent running," she added. A spokesperson for the KMRF said the decision to use Brock, which also involves Kent Police, Kent County Council and National Highways, was "driven by intelligence showing increased cross-Channel bookings for tourist traffic". Simon Jones, KMRF strategic lead for border disruption, added that it was never done "without having clear data of increased border crossings to inform our planning".He said: "Until the government agrees permanent, long-term solutions to tackle disruption on Kent's roads and delays at the border during busy periods, Operation Brock is the only option available."Belinda Totton, business services coordinator at National Highways, said although it was "unfortunate" that a system had to be put in place, "without one we would be unable to maintain the flow of traffic around Kent whenever there was a disruption to travel across the English Channel." She added: "Operation Brock may be an inconvenience, but it is better than us closing the M20 in its entirety to safeguard the local authority roads and surrounding towns."
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Operation Brock to be lifted on M20 with overnight road closure
A traffic-holding system on the M20 installed for lorries queueing to cross the English Channel over the May Bank Holiday weekend and the school half-term is set to be removed week the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum rolled out Operation Brock on the M20 between junction eight (Maidstone) and nine (Ashford).This system sees lorries heading to Dover queue on one side of the M20 while the other carriageway acts as a contraflow, allowing traffic to travel in both M20 will be closed overnight in both directions from 20:00 until 06:00 BST, between junctions seven to 19 coast-bound and junctions nine to 18 London-bound. A signed diversion will be in place during the closure, with the motorway due to reopen as normal on Wednesday.
