Part of new M20 junction to open ahead of schedule

Drivers able to use roundabout next week

Part of a long-awaited motorway junction will open to all traffic next week.

Highways England has come under pressure to partly open Junction 10a in time for the Brexit deadline next Thursday (October 31) so the town can cope with new HMRC customs checks at the Waterbrook Park truckstop.

Transport bosses previously said the M20 junction would only open open to lorries next week, but this has now been broadened to all road users.

Only the coast-facing sliproads and new link road to the A2070 will open and it is not yet known when the whole junction will become available.

Seen as essential for Brexit preparations, Highways England was pressed by ministers to fast-track coast-facing access to the junction so lorries could access the customs station being set up at Waterbrook.

A Highways England spokesman said: “We are fast-tracking work to ensure that key sliproads at Junction 10a will be open to traffic by October 31.

“As part of our work to reprioritise our work, we considered a range of options and their impact, including the phased closure of some of the sliproads at Junction 10.

“Our priority is to open the coast-facing slip roads of the new Junction 10a, and the link road to the A2070 by October 31.

“Work in other areas of the project continues where it does not have an impact on this priority.

“Creating Junction 10a on the M20 involves permanently closing the coast-facing slip roads at the existing Junction 10, as they will be superseded by the new junction. We are rescheduling this work to happen some point after October 31.

“We will plan and communicate it carefully to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum.”

Meanwhile, the Operation Brock contraflow will return on the M20 between Junctions 8 and 9 from 6am on Monday (October 28).

HGV drivers heading for Dover will have to put up with a 30mph limit on the coastbound stretch, while all other traffic must use the 50mph contraflow on the London-bound side of the M20.

It is designed to tackle disruption caused by delays at the border and is Highways England’s post-Brexit answer to Operation Stack.

Operation Brock consists of four phases, with the contraflow being the second phase after the Dover TAP scheme. It could also involve thousands of lorries being diverted to Manston and finally the M26 could be used to park lorries.

■ ‘Our Man in Westminster’ page 18

This map shows which roads will be usable at Junction 10a by Thursday, October 31 after Highways England fast-tracked work

Picture: Paul Amos Work on the coast-facing sliproads is progressing, as this photo from Tuesday morning shows