M20 reopens after Operation Brock controls lifted

A traffic-holding system on the M20 for lorries queueing to cross the English Channel has been lifted.

Operation Brock is deployed when traffic travelling through Kent to the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel is expected to be heavy.

It was put in place on a 13-mile (20.9km) stretch between junctions eight (Maidstone) and nine (Ashford) from 15 to 22 December.

The motorway closed at 20:00 GMT on Sunday and reopened at 06:00 on Monday following an overnight road closure to allow the controls to be lifted.

Operation Brock is designed to reduce the impact of disruption by directing lorries heading for mainland Europe onto the motorway's coastbound carriageway.

One side of the carriageway is used for the lorry queue and the other for a contraflow.

When Operation Brock is in place, a 50mph speed limit is in effect but upon reopening, all three lanes were open and the national speed limit (70mph) was back in place.

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