Port of Dover boss pleads for Brexit funding as M20, A2 and A20 have more problems
08:00, 18 December 2020
updated: 09:00, 18 December 2020
A ports boss has pleaded for more funding from the government to ease traffic problems as motorists face more chaos on Kent's roads.
There are problems on the roads in Folkestone, Hythe and Dover for the fourth consecutive day as the sheer weight of freight traffic builds up once again.
People travelling to France from the UK face stricter checks and having their passports stamped following January 1, prompting concerns over delays.
This morning the Dover Traffic Access Protocol (TAP) scheme on the A20 at Aycliffe remains in place for the forth day this week due to heavy freight volumes.
It means a 40mph speed restriction will apply to all vehicles approaching Dover from the west via the A20.
When traffic reaches high volumes vehicles will be held at temporary traffic lights until space becomes available.
This is to prevent Portbound traffic from disrupting the local road network and the A20 through Dover town.
There are delays approaching the M20 at Junction 11a due to high volumes of traffic heading to the Eurotunnel terminal, where freight traffic is facing a wait of at least an hour.
The coast-bound entry and exist slip roads have also had to be closed at both Junction 11 and 11a due to the heavy number of HGVs queuing on the hard shoulder.
There are also increasingly heavy delays on the A2 coast-bound from Dover, with traffic already stretching back five miles back to Whitfield.
The CEO of the Port of Dover, Doug Bannister, has called on the Government to put more money into passport checks to try and prevent the problem getting worse after Brexit.
On Wednesday, Westminster turned down a request for £33 million of funding for French passport checks on people leaving Dover, allocating the port £33,000 instead.
Mr Bannister told the BBC: “Without this funding it’s going to make the transition more challenging than it is today.”
“We are trying to move ourselves through the greatest period of uncertainty that this facility has seen,” he added.
“Being denied the funding for this programme – what that does mean is that we could see increased friction and increased hold ups while we get through the opening period of the transition.”
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