Dartford Crossing
Encyclopedia
Road
A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...
crossing of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
in England, connecting Dartford
Dartford
Dartford is the principal town in the borough of Dartford. It is situated in the northwest corner of Kent, England, east south-east of central London....
in the south to Thurrock
Thurrock
Thurrock is a unitary authority with borough status in the English ceremonial county of Essex. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The local authority is Thurrock Council....
in the north, via two road tunnels and the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge
Queen Elizabeth II Bridge
The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge is a high and long cable-stayed road bridge across the River Thames in south east England. It was opened in 1991 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II....
. It opened in stages, the west tunnel in 1963, the east tunnel in 1980, and the bridge in 1991. Until the opening of the bridge, built to the east of the two tunnels, the crossing was known as the Dartford Tunnel.
The two tunnels are 1430 m (1,563.9 yd) long, while the cable-stayed bridge
Cable-stayed bridge
A cable-stayed bridge is a bridge that consists of one or more columns , with cables supporting the bridge deck....
is 137 metres (449.5 ft) high with a main span of 450 metres (492.1 yd). The crossing carries nearly 150,000 vehicles a day and forms part of London's orbital route, the M25
M25 motorway
The M25 motorway, or London Orbital, is a orbital motorway that almost encircles Greater London, England, in the United Kingdom. The motorway was first mooted early in the 20th century. A few sections, based on the now abandoned London Ringways plan, were constructed in the early 1970s and it ...
—although the crossing and its approach road are actually the A282
A282 road
The A282 is a road that includes the Dartford Crossing across the River Thames between Essex and Kent in England. It forms part of the London Orbital connecting junctions 2 and 31 of the M25, and a part of the unsigned Euroroute E15. It has junctions numbered to fit inside the sequence of the M25...
, allowing traffic prohibited from motorways to use the crossing. Southbound traffic crosses the four lane bridge; northbound traffic uses both of the two lane road tunnels. However, in bad weather or high winds, the bridge is closed and the crossing reverts to using the tunnels for both directions.
The crossing is 16 miles (25.7 km) east of the centre of London, but just 2 miles (3.2 km) outside the Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
boundary. Its southern end is in Dartford
Dartford (borough)
Dartford is the name given to a local government district and borough in north west Kent, England, which takes its name from its administrative capital. It borders Thurrock, to the north across the River Thames; to the west lies the London Borough of Bexley; to the south Sevenoaks district; and the...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
; while its northern end is in Thurrock
Thurrock
Thurrock is a unitary authority with borough status in the English ceremonial county of Essex. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The local authority is Thurrock Council....
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. Formerly managed jointly by Kent and Essex county councils, the crossing is now managed by Connect Plus (M25) Limited on behalf of the Highways Agency
Highways Agency
The Highways Agency is an executive agency, part of the Department for Transport in England. It has responsibility for managing the core road network in England...
.
The crossing is a major bottleneck in the regional road network, being the easternmost road crossing of the River Thames, and the only one that is east of London. Therefore, the crossing is subject to major traffic congestion and disruption in the event of accidents or bad weather. The next nearest road crossings to the west are the Woolwich Ferry
Woolwich Ferry
The Woolwich Free Ferry is a boat service across the River Thames, London, UK, which is licensed and financed by London River Services, the maritime arm of Transport for London...
and the Blackwall Tunnel
Blackwall Tunnel
The Blackwall Tunnel is a pair of road tunnels underneath the River Thames in east London, linking the London Borough of Tower Hamlets with the London Borough of Greenwich, and part of the A102 road. The northern portal lies just south of the East India Dock Road in Blackwall; the southern...
, both well within East London. The proposed Thames Gateway Bridge
Thames Gateway Bridge
The Thames Gateway Bridge was a proposed crossing over the River Thames in east London, England. It was first mooted in the 1970s but never came to fruition...
between these two crossings and the Dartford crossing was given planning permission in December 2004, but was later cancelled in November 2008. The Lower Thames Crossing
Lower Thames Crossing
The Lower Thames Crossing is a proposed new crossing of the Thames estuary linking the county of Kent with the county of Essex at or east of the existing Dartford crossing.-Description:...
is a tentative proposal for a crossing, most likely a tunnel, to the east of the Dartford crossing.
In October 2009, the Government announced its intention to sell the crossing as part of a public sector deficit reduction strategy.
History
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
meant the tunnel was not completed to full diameter and opened to traffic until 1963. Tolls had been in place since the opening of the first tunnel, and were enacted to pay for the construction of the scheme.
After rapid increases in traffic, a second tunnel was initiated, and opened in 1980, allowing each tunnel to handle one direction of traffic. Connection of the crossing to the M25 was completed on the northerly Essex side in 1981 (Junction 31), and to the southerly Kent side in 1986 (Junction 1a).
In an early example of a Private Finance Initiative
Private Finance Initiative
The private finance initiative is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital...
(PFI), under the Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Act 1988 control of the crossing passed from Kent and Essex county councils to Dartford River Crossing Limited in 1988, who would fund the construction of the QEII bridge and take on the remaining debt from construction of the tunnels.
In 1991 The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge was opened. The PFI scheme allowed DRC Ltd a 20 year concession to collect revenue, although this could be ended early once debts were repaid. Under the scheme, some parties had expected that the government of the time would scrap the toll once the debt had been repaid and a suitable maintenance fund had been accumulated, which was deemed to have occurred on 31 March 2002.
A fee was retained however under the new principle of Road User Charging, which had been introduced in the 2000 Transport Act
Transport Act 2000
The Transport Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provided for a number of measures regarding transport in Great Britain, most notably, the first major change in the structure of the privatised railway system established under the Railways Act 1993...
to use road pricing
Road pricing
Road pricing is an economic concept regarding the various direct charges applied for the use of roads. The road charges includes fuel taxes, licence fees, parking taxes, tolls, and congestion charges, including those which may vary by time of day, by the specific road, or by the specific vehicle...
for controlling traffic congestion
Traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction...
and funding local and national transport schemes. Under this act, the A282 Trunk Road (Dartford-Thurrock Crossing charging scheme) Order 2002 allowed the continuation of the crossing fee, which officially became a charge and not a toll on 1 April 2003. At the same time, under the terms of the 1988 Act the DRC company was liquidated and management of the crossing was contracted to Le Crossing Company Limited on behalf of the Highways Agency
Highways Agency
The Highways Agency is an executive agency, part of the Department for Transport in England. It has responsibility for managing the core road network in England...
. Under the new user charge regime, Le Crossing collects the charges which are set in statutory Charging Orders under the 2000 Act, with the revenue passing in full to the government for redistribution, and annual public accounts of the operation published showing expenses/revenues of the crossing.
From April 2007 to March 2008, 53,240,629 vehicles used the crossing, at a daily average of 145,466 vehicles. This represented a fall back to pre-2002 levels, from averages approaching 150,000 since the turn of the millennium. The highest recorded daily usage was 181,990 vehicles on 23 July 2004.
On the 13th of September 2009 the contractors of the Dartford River Crossing (Le crossing) changed to Connect Plus M25, which again is made up of a consortium of Atkins, Egis, Skanska, and Balfour Beatty.
Charges and DART-Tag
The cash charges vary for the type of vehicle. Motorcycles are free but there are standard charges for cars, larger two-axle vehicles and larger vehicles with more than two axles. Cash is collected in person at a booth, or dropped into an automatic hopper. Under the 2008 Charging Order introduced on 15 November 2008, charges between 10pm and 6am were scrapped, but standard daytime rates increased from £1 to £1.50 for cars.
The DART-Tag is a device that enables drivers to pass the payment booths without having to pay cash, and provides discounted charge rates. Normally inserted into a holster that is stuck to the inside of a vehicle's windscreen, it is detected by sensors at the payment booths and automatically deducts the charge from the driver's pre-paid account. People who use this pre-paid system save money per trip. The prices for DART-Tag account holders are £1 per crossing for a car, £1.75 for a van (a vehicle without windows behind the driver's or passenger's seats) and £3.20 for a multi-goods vehicle. Although the DART-Tag device is free and available to anyone, the tag remains the property of the Dartford Crossing and if lost/stolen or damaged would be charged for.
On 15 November 2008, a local residents' scheme was introduced for car drivers resident in the Dartford and Thurrock council areas. For an annual registration fee of £10, local residents are entitled to 50 free crossings and additional crossings at 20p.
Failure or refusal to pay the charge is a criminal offence under section 22 of The Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Act 1988.
People who are exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty
Vehicle excise duty
Vehicle Excise Duty is a vehicle road use tax levied as an excise duty which must be paid for most types of vehicle which are to be used on the public roads in the United Kingdom...
on the grounds of disability can cross for free.
There are proposals to increase the charges in November 2011 to £2 per crossing for a car, £2.50 for 2-axle goods vehicles and coaches and £5 for multi-axle vehicles. There will then be a further increase in April 2012 to £2.50 per crossing for a car, £3 for 2-axle goods vehicles and coaches and £6 for multi-axle vehicles. DART-Tag charges will also increase, but the discount levels will be roughly maintained.
Non-motor traffic
Pedal powered cyclists are allowed to use the crossing for free, and are conveyed with their bicycles across the crossing in transport provided by the crossing authority.Safety
The transport of hazardous goods through the crossing is governed by the European ADR AgreementEuropean Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road
The European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road, commonly known as ADR , governs transnational transport of hazardous materials.Launched in Geneva on 30 September 1957 under the aegis of the United...
. Oversize and abnormal loads are escorted through the tunnel.
The tunnel must hold regular live exercises in conjunction with the emergency service
Emergency service
Emergency services are organizations which ensure public safety and health by addressing different emergencies. Some agencies exist solely for addressing certain types of emergencies whilst others deal with ad hoc emergencies as part of their normal responsibilities...
s. In 2006 Exercise Orpheus was held, involving the closure of both road tunnels.
Traffic officers
The tunnel has been patrolled by Highways Agency Traffic OfficersHighways Agency Traffic Officers
The Highways Agency Traffic Officer Service is an operational unit within the Highways Agency in England. In April 2004, Highways Agency Traffic Officers began working alongside police on motorways in the West Midlands. The roll out of traffic officers was completed on 18 July 2006 and they now...
, since 12 September 2009. Before then, traffic officers were appointed by the crossing operator.
Traffic officers may stop and direct traffic within the crossing and, so far as is necessary for the performance of any of their duties, on the approach roads. Traffic officers must be in uniform to exercise their powers.
Tunnel equipment
Low power transmitters for some radio stations and transceivers for some mobile phone operators are located inside the tunnels.High Speed One
The high speed rail line HS1 from KentKent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
to north London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
goes over the crossing approach roads on the north side of the river, at a near right angle
Right angle
In geometry and trigonometry, a right angle is an angle that bisects the angle formed by two halves of a straight line. More precisely, if a ray is placed so that its endpoint is on a line and the adjacent angles are equal, then they are right angles...
. The Thurrock Viaduct carries the railway line over the tunnel approach roads, but under the bridge approach, allowing traffic on the bridge a view of the rail line. The railway line then goes under the river in a tunnel to the east of the crossing. Because the river bends from west to north nearby at Greenhithe
Greenhithe
Greenhithe is a town in Dartford District of Kent, England. It forms part of the civil parish of Swanscombe and Greenhithe.Greenhithe, as it is spelled today, is located where it was possible to build wharves for transshipping corn, wood and other commodities; its largest cargoes were of chalk and...
, the rail tunnel goes from east to west while the Dartford Crossing tunnels go from north to south.
Strategic road connections are possible from the M25 to the line via the nearby Ebbsfleet International
Ebbsfleet International railway station
Ebbsfleet International railway station is a railway station in Ebbsfleet Valley, in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, 10 miles outside the eastern boundary of Greater London, England. It is near Dartford and the Bluewater shopping centre to the west and Gravesend to the east. Ebbsfleet International...
station, allowing onward travel into London or into France and continental Europe.
Media
The bridge has been featured briefly in the British films Four Weddings and a FuneralFour Weddings and a Funeral
Four Weddings and a Funeral is a 1994 British comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It was the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to feature Hugh Grant...
, Essex Boys
Essex Boys
Essex Boys is a 2000 British crime film. It was directed by Terry Winsor and stars Sean Bean, Alex Kingston, Tom Wilkinson, Charlie Creed-Miles and Holly Davidson.-Cast:* Charlie Creed-Miles: Billy Reynolds/narrator* Sean Bean: Jason Locke...
, and the Harry Potter series
Harry Potter (film series)
The Harry Potter film series is a British-American film series based on the Harry Potter novels by the British author J. K. Rowling...
. It also appears in the opening credits of the police drama Thief Takers
Thief Takers
Thief Takers was a police drama series made by Central Independent Television for the ITV network. The show depicted the work of a team in the Metropolitan Police Service's Flying Squad...
, and in a 2010 television advertisement for Kellogg's Crunchy Nut
Crunchy Nut Cornflakes
Crunchy Nut is a breakfast cereal made by Kellogg's, made with flakes of corn, a small amount of honey, three types of sugar, and chopped peanuts...
cereal. The crossing is a regular fixture in Police Interceptors
Police Interceptors
Police Interceptors is a TV documentary series that profiles the work of a police ANPR Intercept Team in Essex, United Kingdom and in series 4 profiles the work of South Yorkshire Police's Road Crime Unit...
.
London Transport cycle buses
London TransportLondon Transport Executive
The London Transport Executive was the organisation responsible for public transport in the Greater London area, UK, between 1948-1962. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operational brand of the organisation was London Transport.-Creation:On 1...
ordered five double decker
Double-decker bus
A double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or 'decks'. Global usage of this type of bus is more common in outer touring than in its intra-urban transportion role. Double-decker buses are also commonly found in certain parts of Europe, Asia, and former British colonies and protectorates...
buses based on the Ford Thames Trader
Thames Trader
The Thames Trader was a range of trucks manufactured by the British arm of the Ford Motor Company built between 1957 and 1965.-Design:The distinctive cab design, which sets it apart from other British commercial vehicles, was a forward-control design and the Thames Trader model covered a much...
for special duties, taking cyclists through the Dartford Tunnel. These had a lower deck purpose-built for carrying bicycles, with the upper deck for cyclists. Unusually, these buses had their stairwell several feet above the level of the road, accessible by a ladder. The service was later dropped in 1965, owing to lack of cycle traffic and possibly the design. One of these buses has been saved for preservation.
Other public bus routes that have used the crossing, and since ceased, were the Eastern National 402 (Southend-Dartford/Kings Cross), and the Dartford-Basildon 'Thames Weald' Express.
Since 2003, there has been a public bus service through the Dartford Crossing; the X80 provided by Ensignbus, which links Thurrock
Thurrock
Thurrock is a unitary authority with borough status in the English ceremonial county of Essex. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The local authority is Thurrock Council....
with Bluewater.
External links
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- Dart-Tag website jam |date=2006-11-08 }}