The Isle of Wight Council is planning for a no-deal Brexit, authority bosses have said.
The council, alongside authorities from Hampshire, have begun talks about what would happen if the UK left the European Union without a deal in 77 days time.
Motorway lorry park
A 20-mile section of motorway in Hampshire could be closed and turned into a lorry park if there are severe delays at Dover or Calais.
While Portsmouth is preparing to act as a relief port if there are serious delays at Calais, it cannot accommodate queuing lorries.
Stewart: Importance of Island connectivity
Leader of the Isle of Wight council, Cllr Dave Stewart, said he had attended meetings with mainland colleagues to address concerns.
He said:
“There are significant concerns that need to be covered regarding the flow of traffic through Southampton and Portsmouth as there is a strong possibility vehicles going to Dover may decide to go to Portsmouth instead and contingency plans have been put in place to cope with that.
“As an Island that relies on the connectivity with Portsmouth for our own ferries, and the impact the congestion of those lorries would have — it only takes 13 lorries for it to go back to the motorway and start a huge trail back — it’s important I make sure our local interests are protected.”
Cllr Stewart said good contingency planning was in place through the local resilience forum, and the council was having regular meetings.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which OnTheWight is taking part in. Some additions by OnTheWight. Ed
