Kentish Express Ashford & District
New M20 barrier tried for first time
Highways bosses have tried out a new moveable barrier on the M20 for the first time.
The system – dubbed Operation Brock – is designed to deal with traffic disruption at the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31.
It sees the coastbound side of the motorway between Maidstone and Ashford used by HGVs heading to cross-Channel ports, with all other traffic restricted to a 50mph contraflow on the opposite carriageway.
Using a ‘zipper machine’ to put the barrier in place, Highways England closed the motorway for four nights from Friday to Monday as part of the ‘live test’.
The stretch between Junction 7 for Maidstone and Junction 9 for Ashford reopened during the day, but drivers were faced with narrow lanes and speed restrictions.
Motorists heading from Maidstone to Ashford were restricted to just one lane in part of the contraflow during the trial.
On Monday night, the concrete barrier was shifted back to the London-bound hard shoulder
and the motorway “returned to normal”.
Costing £55m, Brock is an alternative to Operation Stack, which shut sections of the M20 completely.
The barrier is placed in the middle of the London-bound stretch and is used to create the contraflow, replacing the previous steelwork that took a month to put in and remove.
Bosses say the blocks can be installed within hours thanks to the specialist ‘zipper machine’.
It is not the first time a concrete barrier has been used in Kent.
What was called a quick removable barrier was trialled along the M20 back in 2008 but was withdrawn in 2012 after being used just once.
In New Zealand, a mobile concrete barrier similar to the one on the M20 has been used for 30 years.
The New Zealand Transport Agency uses it to control traffic flow on the Auckland Harbour Bridge, which is eight lanes wide.
Before the M20 test began, Highways England said “Operation Brock needs to be active by December 31”.