What’s going on in Kent exactly with m20 etc?

What’s going on in Kent exactly with m20 etc?

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poo at Paul's

Original Poster:

14,314 posts

181 months

Thursday 7th April 2022
quotequote all
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-6101003...

Doesn’t seem to be making headline news, but 5 days into the Easter hold and it’s not looking good in Kent for cross channel traffic.
But does anyone localism know what’s going on exactly!? I am due over there next week for work in Netherlands and Germany and as it is Easter hols was taking the camper van and my kids!
But I cannot work out if it is just Dover that is affected by ferry problems, or the Tunnel too, we are due to use the Tunnel and have been booked on it for many weeks.
I read up on operation stack and Brock, but cannot work out if Brock is actually in force (contradlow) now and if so, does that just allow local no crossing traffic to flow, if heading to channel tunnel, will we be stacked or parked up? M20 is showing as closed between 8 and 9 as of yesterday.
Anyone know what the queues are like at eurotunnel at the mo?
No point heading that way if we cannot get to the Eurotunnel at all, but if there are big delays, how do they sort prebooked vaehicles from diverted traffic from Dover? Or do they not!

It’s always the school holidays!

SteveStrange

4,772 posts

219 months

Thursday 7th April 2022
quotequote all
poo at Paul's said:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-6101003...

Doesn’t seem to be making headline news, but 5 days into the Easter hold and it’s not looking good in Kent for cross channel traffic.
But does anyone localism know what’s going on exactly!? I am due over there next week for work in Netherlands and Germany and as it is Easter hols was taking the camper van and my kids!
But I cannot work out if it is just Dover that is affected by ferry problems, or the Tunnel too, we are due to use the Tunnel and have been booked on it for many weeks.
I read up on operation stack and Brock, but cannot work out if Brock is actually in force (contradlow) now and if so, does that just allow local no crossing traffic to flow, if heading to channel tunnel, will we be stacked or parked up? M20 is showing as closed between 8 and 9 as of yesterday.
Anyone know what the queues are like at eurotunnel at the mo?
No point heading that way if we cannot get to the Eurotunnel at all, but if there are big delays, how do they sort prebooked vaehicles from diverted traffic from Dover? Or do they not!

It’s always the school holidays!
I dont know the answer to that question, but...

Harwich - Hook of Holland. You'll pay £100 more but you'll have £000's-worth less hassle, especially with the kids.

And you don't have to go through Dover, which is always a bonus.

Admittedly not very helpful if you've already got a ticket/can't change it.

poo at Paul's

Original Poster:

14,314 posts

181 months

Thursday 7th April 2022
quotequote all
Can’t get on, we’ve already looked. Being 3.3m tall and 8m long doesn’t help!

andyA700

3,192 posts

43 months

Thursday 7th April 2022
quotequote all
Another three weeks of this utter chaos apparently. The infrastructure in Dover has never been able to handle this.

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/faversham/news/traffi...

poo at Paul's

Original Poster:

14,314 posts

181 months

Friday 8th April 2022
quotequote all
Cheers for moving this to die a slow death in holidays and travel!

Whilst not making mainstream news, (little is these days), this is a newsworthy item and is being reported locally and on some MSMs.

greygoose

8,585 posts

201 months

Friday 8th April 2022
quotequote all
Only freight traffic is held in queues on the M20, tourist traffic has to go on the A20 from Maidstone to Ashford at the moment.

mcm87

115 posts

139 months

Friday 8th April 2022
quotequote all
greygoose said:
Only freight traffic is held in queues on the M20, tourist traffic has to go on the A20 from Maidstone to Ashford at the moment.
Much further than Ashford, they’re using the M20 to queue lorries all the way to Hythe/Folkestone now.

It’s changing daily, but non-freight traffic should still be okay. Leave lots of extra time for the diversions off the M20 and inevitable traffic. Follow the signposted routes as some routes have been closed completely to stop lorries bypassing the queue down to Dover. This is less of an issue for the tunnel.

The Tunnel should be reasonably fine to get to. The real risk is Dover as the lorries have been gridlocking the local roads when the local traffic measures have failed, and the reduced capacity is there with P&O laid up.

andyA700

3,192 posts

43 months

Axe wound

1,158 posts

107 months

GreatGranny

9,298 posts

232 months

Monday 11th April 2022
quotequote all
poo at Paul's said:
But I cannot work out if it is just Dover that is affected by ferry problems, or the Tunnel too, we are due to use the Tunnel and have been booked on it for many weeks.
(It's not because of the ferries or school hols) smile