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Dover Tap lifted on A20 meaning queuing lorries can travel to town's port

18:04, 17 April 2022

updated: 18:08, 17 April 2022

Lorries can now travel to the Port of Dover again, after days of being forced to queue on the A20.

There have been long waits at the town's ports after P&O Ferries' services were suspended, which had a knock-on effect on Kent's roads.

There were queues at the port of Dover as people left for the Easter weekend. Picture: UKNip
There were queues at the port of Dover as people left for the Easter weekend. Picture: UKNip

Highways bosses enforced the Dover Traffic Access Protocol - known as Dover Tap - on Friday, which queues lorries on the nearside of the A20 outside the town.

But at 5pm the Port of Dover announced on Twitter the temporary traffic management initiative has been lifted.

"Tap is off for freight traffic," the tweet said.

"Freight can travel straight to the port. The roads to the Port, A2 / A20, are flowing normally."

Thousands of lorry drivers were also affected by Operation Brock last week as they were forced to queue on the side of the M20 when heading to Dover.

Lorries are now able to travel to the Port of Dover
Lorries are now able to travel to the Port of Dover

But they are no longer being held on the motorway with roads open, the Kent Resilience Forum told yesterday.

A combination of things - including the Easter holidays, P&O routes being suspended and bad weather - have led to congestion and traffic problems in Dover.

Yesterday, neighbours protested about the effect the Dover Tap scheme was having on them.

Frustrated families told of being woken up by truckers kept waiting next to the A20 at Aycliffe blaring their horns day and night.

They have also complained of pollution on their estate caused by running engines and rubbish dumped by drivers.

Operation Brock normally has the capacity for about 2,000 lorries, but it had been holding up to 4,000, according to KRF, which manages emergency planning for the county.

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