Belgium closes motorway due to strike in Calais

A strike by ferry workers in Calais on Wednesday also affected traffic on the E40 motorway in Belgium. The Belgian federal traffic police created a mandatory exit at Veurne, forcing cars and buses off the E40 to seek regional roads on their way to France, according to Hajo Beeckman spokesman for the Flemish Traffic Centre.

Calais ferry workers set fire to tyres near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel and blocked railway lines, causing traffic chaos around the port of Calais and all roads leading to it. Lorries were deviated as much as possible to the port of Dunkirk. Only 200 lorries at a time were allowed to cross the entrance to the Channel Tunnel, while thousands more had to queue for hours.

The Belgian federal traffic police therefore cut off all access to the E40 between Jabbeke, in West Flanders, and the French border. "By slowing the influx to the E40, we can avoid additional chaos, a tactic that the police have applied in the past. All exits remain open, of course. And the coast is still accessible," said Beeckman.

West Flanders province governor Carl Decaluwé announced that all the mayors and emergency planning officials were informed, and that a command post was established to monitor the situation and hand out water to stranded drivers.