Right, the M20 and to a lesser extent the M2 are the main motorways running towards the coast and Dover and the Channel Tunnel and ferry links to Calais. Every time there is any sort of hiccup in processing HGVs (tractor-trailers in US usage) at either Dover or Calais, huge queues build up along the motorways as there is nowhere for them to go.
We know there will be chaos when Brexit comes into effect on the 1st because France tried its processes for a few hours a month or so back and HGVs quickly started backing up. That was without the UK running its own revised processes, and it's just been announced yesterday that the new lorry park ('Sevington Inland Border Facility') where those were supposed to happen won't be ready before the end of February. It's expected to be so bad that HGVs will need a special permit just to enter the county (That's not a mis-spelling, it's definitely 'county', not 'country'). They haven't tried out the system for issuing those either, the software was due to release about the 12th IIRC, I don't know if it did or not.
So anyway, we're pretty much guaranteed absolute chaos, and queues of HGVs backing uo for miles, potentially tens of miles, down the motorways. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Brock for the plans for dealing with that. There are only a limited number of exits from the motorways, so if drivers decided to try and avoid the chaos, they'll be funneled into a handful of roads. One place they can get off both is the road leading into Chatham, and past the sole entrance to my small estate. Also running through Chatham is the A2, which used to be the main road to the coast pre M2/M20. Any HGV drivers thinking that might be a sneaky way to avoid queueing will run into first Chatham town centre, which backs up on a normal morning, and second the A2 itself, which is pretty decent heading into Chatham from London, where it's motorway standard as the A2(M), but out of Chatham coast-bound it rapidly turns into a poor quality country road (which is why they built the M2 in the first place).
"In the event of disruption following the end of the Transition Period, it is anticipated that some communities may experience disruption to local road networks and the provision of some local services such as waste management and health and social care services. We are working hard with local authorities to anticipate and minimise any impact, and are encouraging residents to consider how they can build their own resilience:
​Residents are encouraged to develop household contingency plans and to put measures in place to ensure they are prepared in the event of an emergency or any likely disruption"
So I fully expect there to be chaos on the M2/M20, with a high chance of it being joined by similar jams on the only road out of the estate I live on.
no subject
We know there will be chaos when Brexit comes into effect on the 1st because France tried its processes for a few hours a month or so back and HGVs quickly started backing up. That was without the UK running its own revised processes, and it's just been announced yesterday that the new lorry park ('Sevington Inland Border Facility') where those were supposed to happen won't be ready before the end of February. It's expected to be so bad that HGVs will need a special permit just to enter the county (That's not a mis-spelling, it's definitely 'county', not 'country'). They haven't tried out the system for issuing those either, the software was due to release about the 12th IIRC, I don't know if it did or not.
So anyway, we're pretty much guaranteed absolute chaos, and queues of HGVs backing uo for miles, potentially tens of miles, down the motorways. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Brock for the plans for dealing with that. There are only a limited number of exits from the motorways, so if drivers decided to try and avoid the chaos, they'll be funneled into a handful of roads. One place they can get off both is the road leading into Chatham, and past the sole entrance to my small estate. Also running through Chatham is the A2, which used to be the main road to the coast pre M2/M20. Any HGV drivers thinking that might be a sneaky way to avoid queueing will run into first Chatham town centre, which backs up on a normal morning, and second the A2 itself, which is pretty decent heading into Chatham from London, where it's motorway standard as the A2(M), but out of Chatham coast-bound it rapidly turns into a poor quality country road (which is why they built the M2 in the first place).
Trials of Operation Brock when Brexit was expected in 2019 did not go well https://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-news/operation-brock-been-place-two-2689129
The up-to-date county level resilience planning is here https://www.kentprepared.org.uk/end-of-transition-plans It actually states:
"In the event of disruption following the end of the Transition Period, it is anticipated that some communities may experience disruption to local road networks and the provision of some local services such as waste management and health and social care services. We are working hard with local authorities to anticipate and minimise any impact, and are encouraging residents to consider how they can build their own resilience:
​Residents are encouraged to develop household contingency plans and to put measures in place to ensure they are prepared in the event of an emergency or any likely disruption"
So I fully expect there to be chaos on the M2/M20, with a high chance of it being joined by similar jams on the only road out of the estate I live on.