Dartford Crossing
The Dartford–Thurrock River Crossing, commonly known as the Dartford Crossing and until 1991 the Dartford Tunnel, is a major road crossing of the River Thames in England, carrying the A282 road between Dartford in Kent in the south and Thurrock in Essex in the north.
It consists of two bored tunnels and the cable-stayed Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. The only fixed road crossing of the Thames east of Greater London, it is the busiest estuarial crossing in the United Kingdom, with an average daily use of over 130,000 vehicles. It opened in stages: the west tunnel in 1963, the east tunnel in 1980 and the bridge in 1991. The crossing, although not officially designated a motorway, is considered part of the M25 motorway's route, using the tunnels northbound and bridge southbound. Described as one of the most important road crossings in Britain, it suffers from heavy traffic and congestion.
The crossing's development started in the late 1930s, but was interrupted due to the Second World War and resumed in the 1950s. The original tunnel catered for a single lane of traffic in each direction, but rising traffic levels required the second tunnel to be built. The M25 connected to the tunnels at both ends when completed in 1986, and the increased traffic put pressure on the tunnels' capacity. A private finance initiative scheme was started in 1988 to build the bridge. The combined crossing now handles four lanes of traffic in each direction.
The crossing has always been tolled, and though the cost of construction has since been paid back, the toll was retained, and rebranded as a congestion pricing scheme from 1 April 2003. Since 2008 it has been free from 10 pm to 6 am. An automatic number plate recognition charging scheme named the "Dart Charge" began in November 2014. As a result, the booths on the Kent side were removed and the charge is now only payable online, by post, or in participating retail outlets. A residents' scheme is available, offering discounts for people living near the crossing.
The crossings are operated by Connect Plus Ltd on behalf of National Highways as part of a 30-year Design-Build-Finance-Operate agreement that began in 2009.
Location
The crossing spans the River Thames between Dartford, Kent, to the south and Thurrock, Essex, to the north. It is about east of the centre of London, outside the Greater London boundary. The two tunnels are long, while the cable-stayed bridge is high with a main span of. A speed limit is in place in both directions. North of the river, the rail line High Speed 1 passes under the approach roads at a near right angle.The design capacity is 135,000 vehicles per day, but in practice the crossing carries around 160,000. It has been described by the Highways Agency as "a vital transport link for the national and South East economies", by the former Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin, as "a crucial part of the country's strategic road network", and by the local Thurrock Council as "one of Europe's most heavily used crossings and complex traffic management systems". It is signed as a major destination on London's orbital route, the M25, though the crossing and its approach road are an all-purpose road ; this allows some non-motorway traffic—such as mopeds, learner drivers and agricultural vehicles—to use it. The speed limit for the crossing is set at 50 mph. Though not the name of the crossing infrastructure, the actual road across the Thames is named Canterbury Way. Southbound traffic crosses the four-lane bridge, while northbound traffic uses both of the two-lane road tunnels. The bridge can be closed due to high winds or maintenance. On these occasions, traffic uses the tunnels in both directions. The crossing and its approaches, like most UK urban motorways, are equipped with lane control and variable-message signs to manage traffic.
Alternative routes
The next nearest vehicle crossings to the west of Dartford are the Woolwich Ferry and the Blackwall and Silvertown Tunnels, both well within East London. When the bridge is closed in high winds and for maintenance, no convenient diversion exists through London for the higher-limit southbound vehicles. Those over are diverted around the far side of the M25.A number of new crossings have been proposed as relief for the Dartford Crossing. The proposed Thames Gateway Bridge to the west was provisionally supported in 2004, but was cancelled in November 2008 when Boris Johnson became Mayor of London. Johnson subsequently proposed the Gallions Reach Ferry, a ferry crossing in the same location, as an alternative. The Lower Thames Crossing is a proposed tunnel to the east between Shorne, Kent and South Ockendon, Essex. Thurrock Council suggest that this crossing will be essential for managing congestion. A public consultation on the scheme ended in March 2016, with the route announced in April 2017.
, contracts have been awarded and the target date for completion is 2032.
Charges
A free-flow electronic charging system called Dart Charge began in November 2014 based on automatic number plate recognition. The charge can be paid online or phone, in advance or by midnight the day after crossing, but can no longer be paid in cash at the site since the old toll booths have been removed. However, cash payments are accepted at some Payzone retail outlets. Reminder signs and variable message signs on approaches to the crossing say "Dart charge – find us online. Pay by midnight tomorrow." Vehicles have to pay the charge if they use the crossing between 6 am and 10 pm seven days per week, and this is indicated on signs. Daily charges for the crossing since October 2018 are:| Vehicle class | Pay-as-you-go | Pre-paid accounts |
| Motorcycles | Free | Free |
| Cars, motorhomes, small minibuses | £3.50 | £2.80 |
| 2-axle buses, coaches, vans, goods | £4.20 | £3.60 |
| Multi-axle goods, coaches | £8.40 | £7.20 |
Various categories of vehicles are exempt from the charge, including emergency services vehicles, military vehicles and those exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty on the grounds of disability.
The charges vary according to the type of vehicle. Motorcycles are free but there are standard charges for cars, two-axle goods vehicles and larger vehicles with more than two axles. Drivers who fail to pay the charge are issued with a penalty charge notice. There are no signs warning of penalty charges.
Since 2008, a local residents' scheme gives 50 crossings to car drivers resident in the Dartford and Thurrock council areas for an annual registration fee of £10, with additional crossings at 20p each. On 1 March 2014, this scheme was extended to include privately owned two-axle goods vehicles. A further option was introduced giving unlimited crossings for £20 annually. Around 44,000 drivers take advantage of this scheme each year. Although the website for paying the charge is operated by the UK Government, the contract for the free-flow charging system is held by French public roads operator Société des Autoroutes du Nord et de l'Est de la France on behalf of the Government.
In 2025, campaign group Transport Action Network claimed the toll could be tripled to £8.10 for cars and £14 for lorries if private finance is used to build the Lower Thames Crossing.
History
Western tunnel
The idea of a tunnel crossing was first proposed by the Ministry of Transport in 1924. Initial reports at the start of the year suggested a crossing between Tilbury and Gravesend, replacing a ferry service, but this had been rejected by July in favour of a route further upstream, near Dartford. By 1929, the total cost of building the tunnel had been estimated at £3 million. The tunnel was planned to be part of a general orbital route around London and was provisionally known as part of the "South Orbital Road". The ' authorised the construction of the tunnel, and set tolls to be charged for its use. It was amended by the ' to adjust the design and increase the permitted tolls.The first engineering work to take place was a compressed air driven pilot tunnel, which was drilled between 1936 and 1938. Work on the tunnel was delayed due to World War II, and resumed in 1959, using a Greathead Shield, similar to the work on the Blackwall Tunnel some 60 years earlier. The delay in work due to the war allowed the tunnel's design to be improved, which included a better ventilation system. After negotiations with the Ministry of Transport, Kent and Essex county councils obtained government approval to increase the previously set tolls in 1960, before opening. The two-lane bore, 28 feet | 8.6m diameter tunnel opened to traffic on 18 November 1963; the total project cost was £13 million and it initially served approximately 12,000 vehicles per day.
The toll was originally two shillings and sixpence, equivalent to 12.5p post-decimalisation, and approximately equivalent in purchasing power to £ in. The gave a joint committee of Kent and Essex county councils the authority to increase the tolls, and in December 1977, the toll was raised from 25p to 35p for cars, 40p to 55p for two-axle goods vehicles, and 60p to 85p for HGVs. By 1984, the toll for cars had risen to 60p.
Eastern tunnel
The first tunnel was expected to carry two million vehicles a year but by 1970 was carrying over eight million. That year, Michael Heseltine, then a junior transport minister, announced that a second tunnel would be built in conjunction with the North Orbital Road, later to become the M25.Construction was approved in April 1971, with an initial expected opening date in 1976. Work was delayed due to a lack of funds, which was resolved by EEC funding granted in 1974. The second tunnel opened in May 1980, allowing each tunnel to handle one direction of traffic, by which time the joint capacity of the two tunnels had increased to 65,000 vehicles per day. Connection of the crossing to the M25 was completed on the southerly Kent side in 1977 and to the northerly Essex side in September 1982. Following the completion of the M25 in 1986, the daily demand had grown to 79,000 vehicles.