Motorists have been told to avoid travelling through Dover on “Black Saturday” in a bid to avoid the traffic chaos that trapped thousands of drivers for hours last weekend.
The port is expected to be busy again this weekend as holidaymakers arrive to cross the Channel and they have been asked to delay their journeys until Sunday. Drivers also have been urged to stock up on supplies following last weekend’s severe delays of up to 15 hours when tailbacks from Dover were up to 12 miles long.
Police said the disruption was caused by the increased volume of holiday traffic combined with heightened security checks by French officials in the wake of recent terror attacks.
Although the port of Dover was not expecting a repeat of last weekend’s delays, Kent police told motorists to take plenty of food and water with them and check travel updates from Highways England for any disruptions.
The port of Dover told travellers: “This remains our busiest time of the year and we do expect increased traffic volumes as the holiday season continues to get under way. Currently, roads to the port remain clear and free flowing and there are no queues inside the port.”
TRAVEL UPDATE 1000hrs: Roads through #Dover to #PortofDover currently flowing well. Port busy but operating normally.
— Port of Dover Travel (@PoD_travelnews) July 30, 2016
P&O Ferries tweeted:
GREAT NEWS: There are currently no queues at border control in Dover! Have a lovely journey with us this morning. pic.twitter.com/D6Hy5YX9oh
— P&O Ferries Freight (@POFerriesFR8) July 30, 2016
Rod Dennis, RAC’s European breakdown spokesman, said he hoped lessons had been learned after last weekend’s chaos. “If for any reason there are tailbacks on the M20 and other routes to the south coast we hope the authorities will do a better job of communicating information, and have effective contingency plans in place to look after motorists and their passengers,” he said.
Kent council said it had more than 50,000 bottles of water and 2,000 cereal bars donated by the Morrisons supermarket in the port town ready to distribute if necessary. Highways England has also provided toilet facilities along the A20 between the Roundhill tunnel and the port of Dover.
French authorities have warned of heavy congestion on the country’s roads on Saturday as some holidaymakers headed home and others began their breaks.
More delays are expected on 6 August.
