Dover traffic: Chaos as Brits face 3-hour queues in Easter travel nightmare
Motorists have been warned to avoid the motorway during a three-hour "congestion" window.
Queues at Dover as Easter getaway underway
Millions of Brits travelling on the road during Easter weekend have been warned of a three-hour “congestion” window on motorways as more chaos is expected nationwide.
Traffic and road experts have cautioned about heavy traffic nationwide as Good Friday marks the start of the Easter weekend.
National Highways anticipates a surge of British motorists using motorways throughout the holiday weekend.
Experts have urged travellers to be weary of traffic during the three hours on Easter Saturday and Sunday between 11am and 2pm, reports Birmingham Live.
Darryl Bowman, from Cuvva, said: "Millions of people are gearing up for road trips and getaways to make the most of the upcoming Easter break.
"With planned rail engineering works set to cause disruptions, hitting the road seems like the easiest and safest bet, if you want to keep your bank holiday plans on track.
“Departing early in the morning or later in the afternoon can help you dodge peak congestion times on the road."
THIS BLOG IS CLOSED NOW. READ BELOW FOR THE COVERAGE.
Several motorways jam packed with traffic in Wales
There are delays on the M4 on Friday morning as the Easter getaway begins. Meanwhile, in west Wales a multi-vehicle crash has shut a main road in both directions.
There is currently slow holiday traffic on the M4 Westbound from J24 A449 (Coldra) to J26 A4051 (Malpas Road). There is also queueing traffic on the A48 Westbound at A476 Cross Hands Road (Cross Hands Roundabout).
In Haverfordwest, the A40 at Arnolds Hill is blocked in both directions due to a multi-vehicle crash, according to traffic monitoring service Inrix. The road was closed at around 11am, it is reported.
Up in north Wales, there are tailbacks due to holiday traffic on the A55 Westbound from J34 A494 (Ewloe) to J32A A5026 (Pentre Halkyn).
400 flights this Easter weekend
An airline company has cancelled 400 flights this Easter weekend adding more misery to the holidaymakers.
It comes after Austrian Airlines flight crews walked out over pay disputes with their employer. Around 50,000 passengers are set to be hit by the industrial action.
In a statement, the airline told people to prepare for disruption and said: "We cannot keep our passengers in union uncertainty until the last minute. Therefore, it has just been decided to cancel over 400 flights from 28 March, 12:00 a.m. until 29 March, 12pm."
A14 closed westbound near Ipswich as police deals with a major incident
A14 in Suffolk has been closed westbound between Junction 55 and Junction 53 near Ipswich due to a police-led incident.
National Highways detailed that emergency services including Air Ambulance are in attendance with the agency deploying resources to assist with traffic management, reports GB News.
Drivers urged to follow main routes to reach Port of Dover
Drivers have been requested to only travel via the main routes to reach the Port of Dover.
Officials issued the advice in a bid to help minimise delays for both locals and travellers. The Port of Dover earlier said that queues were at least 90 minutes long.
It later said that the time had been reduced to 70 minutes now.
\ud83d\ude97 This Easter travel to the #PortofDover via main routes only. This avoids causing traffic delays for you and our local residents \ud83d\ude4f See here for more information: https://t.co/cB2jpPC4qP pic.twitter.com/2ypzMoAQfw
\u2014 Port of Dover Travel (@PoD_travelnews) March 29, 2024
Operation Brock in place on the M20
Operation Brock has been set active on the M20 motorway to manage the traffic flow, informed the Kent County Council.
Those planning to use Eurotunnel and the Port of Dover have been advised to plan their journeys and check with the travel operator before setting out.
Operation Brock is a lane control on the M20 motorway which controls traffic heading to the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone
Shocking photos show long queues at Dover
More than 14 million car journeys are expected to be made across the four-day break, which comes as most schools start their holidays.
Misery on the roads is set to be compounded by Network Rail engineering work on the West Coast Main Line – which stretches from London to Scotland – leading to delays and cancellations.
The section between London Euston and Milton Keynes will be shut, while disruption is expected around Glasgow and Huddersfield.