Operation Brock

Operation Brock is the planned traffic management system in Kent for use in the event of a no-deal Brexit. It supersedes Operation Stack, the previous plan that has been used in the past for temporary cross-Channel traffic problems.

The M20 near Hollingbourne within the Operation Brock area.

Background

The M20 runs between the M25 and Folkestone, with a bit of dual carriageway A20 making up the last few miles to Dover. Effectively the motorway has carried nearly all cross channel traffic to and from the Port of Dover and the Channel Tunnel since the late 1990s. When the ferries and/or shuttle trains weren't running to schedule, lorries bound for the continent were parked on the motorway, under Operation Stack coupled with the younger Dover TAP. However, with the possibility of a higher administrative overhead at the Port of Dover post-Brexit[1] and an increase in freight traffic, protocols needed to be increased and Operation Brock was formed.

Work began in May 2018 on this scheme managed by Highways England and in September 2018 they revealed in a Freedom of Information request that "£30m has been allocated to cover the design, build and initial operation of the scheme for up to six months."[2] The works included strengthening the carriageways of the M26 and altering the carriageway of the M20 between Junctions 8 & 9. On the westbound carriageway of the M20, the hard shoulder was converted to a running lane, giving that carriageway a total of four lanes, all remarked with white lines. A steel barrier now separates these lanes, giving two in each direction.

Operation Brock is scheduled to be ready for activation no later than the date of the UK's exit from the EU, 31 January 2020. Road marking reworkings began on or around the night of 26 October 2019.[3]

Phases

There are four phases of Operation Brock, each trying to cope with more traffic than the last.

Phase 1

The initial phase only concerns heavy goods vehicles ("HGVs") queuing for the Port of Dover. At this stage Dover TAP is activated and all HGVs using the Port must use the A20 from Folkestone, queuing in the left hand lane. The road will be reduced to 40 mph and all other traffic will use the right hand lane. HGVs will be released in intervals at Western Heights Roundabout to the west of Dover, in order to avoid clogging up the only main road through the town.

Phase 2

Phase 2 encompasses the contraflow between Junctions 8 & 9 on the M20 and now applies to HGVs for both the Port of Dover and Channel Tunnel. Both directions of motorway traffic are directed onto the westbound carriageway contraflow at a speed limit of 50 mph. The eastbound carriageway will then be closed and used for HGV queuing in two lanes (the hard shoulder and 3rd lane) with the other two lanes are reserved for emergency vehicles, maintenance vehicles and amenities. This would be marked out with cones and subjected to a 30 mph speed limit. Due to the contraflow setup, non-HGV traffic cannot join the M20 eastbound at junction 8.

Phase 3

Phase 3 separates the HGVs for the Port of Dover and Channel Tunnel. All HGVs for the Channel Tunnel use the contraflow on the M20, whereas HGVs for the port of Dover head to Manston Airport via the M2, A249 & A299 (advertised routes by Highways England). HGVs will queue here until space is made available on the A256, where the TAP256 will control HGVs in the same way the Dover TAP does on the A20.

Phase 4

Phase 4 only affects HGVs for the Channel Tunnel. The M26 is now closed entirely and HGVs are parked on both carriageways until space at the contraflow on the M20 becomes available.

Problems

In January 2019, a rehearsal for part of Operation Brock was carried out, using the former Manston Airport as a lorry park.[4] It was criticised for being unrepresentative of the actual situation that would occur in reality.[5] On the first day of the test, only 89 of the planned 150 lorries turned up for the rehearsal.[6]

The contraflow has been the height of issues however. As Operation Brock was not used due to Brexit being delayed, the decision was made to partially revert the M20 back to its original state. This was done by reopening the eastbound carriageway fully, and keeping the steel barrier in the event that Operation Brock would have to be activated again in the following months due to the uncertainty of Brexit.[7] The westbound carriageway has stayed at 50 mph. This has decreased safety to motorists travelling on the M20 whether Operation Brock is in force or not, as if they breakdown they are in a live lane and there are no warnings to other traffic like there are on Smart Motorways. In the first few weeks of the contraflow in force, many accidents happened on the stretch, and with no hard shoulder emergency vehicles found it hard to get to the scene.[8]

See also

References
  1. New Civil Engineer: NAO warns 'considerable' infrastructure work needed at UK border
  2. Guardian: "Brexit lorry scheme would leave Kent in chaos for weeks".
  3. Switchboard 0300 330 3000, Media enquiries 020 7944 3021 Out of hours media enquiries 020 7944 4292. "Kent roads ready for Brexit as hauliers gear up for 31 October". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  4. "Airport site used for post-Brexit test". Kent Online. 2019-01-07. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  5. O'Carroll, Lisa (2019-01-07). "No-deal Brexit rehearsal in Kent 'a waste of time'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  6. "Post-Brexit lorry park trial under way". BBC News. 2019-01-07. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  7. "Operation Brock – work to remove M20 contraflow starts tonight". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2019-04-15.
  8. "Operation Brock has been in place for two days on the M20 and it's already a disaster". Kent Online. 2019-03-26. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
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