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Kent Police has reported the M20 coastbound carriageway between Junctions 8 and 9 is temporarily closed due to the suspension of Eurotunnel services at the Channel Tunnel after French Eurotunnel workers staged a surprise lightning strike.
The closure will allow freight bound for the continent to queue on the empty section of motorway in order to keep any disruption to Kent’s wider road network to a minimum.
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All EU-bound freight must use the M20 whilst all other traffic must follow the signed diversions.
The closure of the M20 is an emergency measure that is only used following consultation between Kent Police and its partners in the Kent Resilience Forum (KRF) after a thorough assessment of issues including public safety and traffic volumes.
Check with your operator
Contact your travel operator before setting off on your journey.
- Eurotunnel – call 08444 630000. or visit the website
- Eurostar – visit the website.
- Port of Dover – call 01304 240 400 or visit the website.
For the most up-to-date information:
- Check the Operation Brock page on the National Highways website or follow @HighwaysSEAST on X.
- Follow Kent Police on X @kent_police
- Check the KCC Highways website
Latest!!! Strike called off
Eurotunnel unions have since announced that they will end their strike and that rail traffic would resume on Thursday night, according to French BFM TV.
The strike, which lasted for a day, was over bonus pay and caused huge delays on the busy London-Paris route. Some trains had to turn back to Paris just before arriving in London, which led the French government to condemn the strike as unacceptable.