The hated Operation Brock contraflow will remain in place for at least another week after Dover town was once again clogged up by heavy port traffic.
Business owners were forced to walk two miles to get to work after roads in the town were gridlocked by drivers heading to the continent on Saturday.
Pictures show queues of vehicles along the A20 Townwall Street, near the St James’ retail park and along Woolcomber Street.
With another weekend of heavy traffic predicted however, bosses at the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum (KMRF) say Operation Brock will remain in place for the time being.
The contraflow system for the M20 creates a dedicated lane for HGVs to queue, if needed, between Junctions 8 and Junction 9.
Lorries heading to the continent queue on the coastbound side, with the London-bound carriageway operating as a contraflow with narrow lanes and a 50mph limit.
The system was put in place in July, ahead of the summer holidays, but roads chiefs said they would review whether the barrier needed to stay out in the first week of August.
But following the chaos in Dover over the weekend, the KMRF says it will be staying put.
A spokesman said: “All partners of the KMRF work very hard to try to keep local roads, including in Dover town centre, moving during exceptionally busy times.
“This weekend saw an exceptional number of tourists heading to Europe from both the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel, so trained officers were on the ground to help visitors and residents.
“Operation Brock and TAP did their job by managing freight traffic away from Dover town, but the situation in Dover town centre was affected by problems within the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel that were beyond the control of partners of the KMRF.
“The deployment of the Operation Brock barrier was formally reviewed today (August 4), as we committed to remove it as soon it is not needed.
“Extremely high passenger numbers are expected again this weekend, and in order to maximise road space and prioritise tourist traffic accessing the ports the barrier will remain in place so we can be ready to manage freight safely away from Dover town centre on the M20.
“Lorry drivers must pass through the Brock barrier to ensure they get a permit to allow them into the Port of Dover during the busiest times. No permit, no access to the Port of Dover.
“We would also like to remind drivers heading to Europe through Kent that they should follow local road signs rather than navigation services, to ensure everyone gets where they need to be.”
On Saturday, businessman Paul McMullan took photographs of cars, vans and lorries at a standstill in Dover as he struggled to get to work.
Mr McMullan, owner of the Castle Inn pub, said: “I had to park two miles away and walk to work.
“I tried to go down Jubilee Way but that was blocked so I had to do a u-turn.
“Dover was in total gridlock. It has always been bad at the beginning of a holiday season.”
Locals on social media posted images of traffic snaking around the sharp bend of Castle Hill Road, which heads towards the A20.
Similar problems had occurred on the port-bound roads last weekend, just days after schools broke up for the long summer holiday.
Dover over the years has regularly suffered from road congestion due to port traffic.
This can happen during holiday periods with traffic coming in from all over the country.
But traffic control systems such as Dover TAP and Operation Brock are used to try to stop the town being swamped.
Clog-ups can happen for reasons such as delays in border checks and severe weather disrupting sailings.
KentOnline has contacted port authorities and ferry operators to ask what exactly worsened the problem this weekend.
But speaking to BBC Radio Kent this morning, Toby Howe, highways and transportation strategic manager for Kent County Council and part of the KMRF, said issues were caused by tourist traffic pouring into an already full Port of Dover, causing backlogs.
He told the radio show: “Tourist traffic is causing huge chaos in the town. It’s like herding cats.
“Until the government finds a solution to hold and manage the traffic, we in Kent and Dover are going to suffer.”
Responding to suggestions that a lorry park should be created on the now-defunct Sevington Inland Border Facility, Mr Howe said the plan would “create a huge bottleneck” and would not stop tourist traffic issues.
