Roads no longer fit for purpose

Road chaos in Kent has been rife these past few weeks and is only set to get worse. The solution Kent needs a new road.

I submitted a suggestion back in 2015 which will prevent all the drama and upset Kent has faced regarding the M20 and beyond. This solution is a road which would be a dual carriageway stretching approximately 11 miles between Ashford and Maidstone. It will act as a lorry holding area as and when required and will also include two lorry parks en route to include customs clearance checks points if required.

It will be used as a normal road but when needed as a holding

area, this road would be closed off to through traffic (which using overhead gantries, could be done within minutes, not the current 12 hours initialising Brock) giving 44 miles (four lanes) to hold lorries until such time as they can continue on their way. This space will hold approximately 6,000 lorries, leaving the M20 free to be used as normal without Brock causing mayhem as it is now.

The M20 is being subjected to daily delays & closures due to Brock being installed on the motorway. With this suggestion, not only would the M20 be free from restrictions but lorries would have the facilities needed while being held. It will also alleviate traffic chaos through villages and keep the roads free for emergency services.

When the then A20 was upgraded to a motorway (M20) back in 1971 the road could cope with the traffic, however the volume of vehicles has since heavily escalated and is still increasing. The current road network through Kent is no longer fit for purpose.

Manston airport in the past has been used as a lorry holding area, but was decommissioned in 2021. Since the current issues have arisen, the government has now been given the opportunity to rent the area for a further 12 months.

Using this certainly helps to keep the M20 flowing, however with an approximate 40-mile

diversion for drivers, this is really not ethical especially with the horrendous increase on the cost of fuel. This causes miles of tailbacks at J2 of the M25 when the diversion is put in to place.

The MP for Ashford, Damian Green, has stated that better measures are needed and these measures need to be on a national scale. If this were to happen, the repercussions could be severe.

More issues will arise if HGVS are held further afield as accidents, diversions and general heavy traffic could create unexpected delays, causing them to miss their departures at the port or tunnel.

How would this work for HGVS delivering/based in Kent? Will they be sent 100 miles back up the country or will they be ‘stacked’ on the M20?

The Kent Resilience Forum (KRF) ‘thanked’ the residents for their patience during the chaotic time of gridlocked Kent, but a solution by way of a new road would mean so much more than words.

Opening new lorry parks outside of Kent will NOT solve the problem BUT by installing this new road, no purpose built lorry parks will go unused and only one team of workers would be required to man the area whilst the road is in operation as a holding area, saving millions of pounds in public money.

Brian Marchant

Lowestoft, Suffolk