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Coordinates: 51°27′52″N 0°15′30″E / 51.464335, 0.25842

The Dartford Crossing joins Dartford and Thurrock across the River Thames, to the east of London. It consists of two tunnels under the river, normally used for northbound traffic, and the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, used for southbound traffic. It is the furthest-downstream road crossing of the Thames, and effectively forms part of London's orbital M25 motorway. However the M25 is not a complete loop: it ends shortly before the crossing on each side of the river, and the crossing and its approach roads form the A282 instead. This is so that traffic prohibited from motorways can use the crossing rather than diverting to the nearest alternative, the Blackwall Tunnel.

Dartford in Kent is the town nearest the crossing on the south bank of the river. The area around the north bank of the crossing is called West Thurrock Essex, which is home to Lakeside Shopping Centre. Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent is 4km, and Ebbsfleet International railway station is 8km from the crossing.

Contents 1 History 2 The Bridge 3 Tolls 3.1 DART-Tag 4 Traffic Congestion 5 Media 6 Notes 7 External links

Since its opening in 1963, the crossing has been expanded several times to cope with increased traffic demands:

• 1963 First tunnel opened (construction first started before WW2)
• 1980 Second tunnel opened
• 1986 M25 access completed
• 1991 The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge was opened

Prior to the opening of the bridge in 1991, the crossing was usually referred to as the "Dartford Tunnel", each of the two tunnels carrying traffic in opposite directions (and they still do if the bridge has to be closed for any reason).

Before the opening of the bridge the crossing featured heavily in Tv and radio traffic broadcasts for major congestion.

The bridge, which was completed on 7 June 1991 and opened on 30 October 1991, ^[1] is a four-lane cable-stayed bridge, designed by Dr. Ing Hellmut Homberg and Partner and Kvaerner Technology Limited. ^[2] When it was opened, the bridge was Europe's largest cable-supported bridge. The central span is 450 m (1,476 ft) long and is suspended 65 m (213 ft) above the Thames (to accommodate ocean-going cruise liners). The approach viaducts on the Essex side measure 1,052 m (3,451 ft) and 1,008 m (3,307 ft) on the Kent side, giving a total length of 2,872 m (9,423 ft). It has an expected life span of 120 years.

It is a toll bridge and accommodates four lanes of southbound traffic from the M25. When closed, due to high winds for example, one of the two adjacent tunnels is used instead.

When built, the Queen Elizabeth II bridge was only the second bridge on the River Thames east (downstream) of London Bridge constructed in over a thousand years, and it is currently the only bridge east of Tower Bridge (the Thames Gateway Bridge will be the second, when completed). The historic reason for this is that bridges prohibited tall ships and other large ships from reaching the Pool of London, which has led to the building of numerous tunnels instead.

High Speed 1 passes under the bridge (between the bridge supports) on the north (Essex) side and tunnels under the river just east of the bridge. The rail line passes over the exit ramps of both of the road tunnels. The trains are obscured from view by screen fencing. From the bridge, the new Channel Tunnel Rail Link is visible below. Also in view is Canary Wharf, to the west.

Tolls for both directions of travel are collected at toll gates on the south side of the crossing.

Tolls vary depending on the vehicle and time of day a crossing is made. Abnormal Loads and large vehicles have different charges, depending on size and weight. It is cheaper to use the crossing between 22:00 - 06:00 hours for certain types of vehicles. Each toll booth has a digital time display to show the exact time a payment at the toll booth is made, thus the time of the crossing. Some of the toll gates accept coins thrown into a hopper (no receipt is issued). This speeds up flow through the gates for those that have the necessary coins available. 1p and 2p coins are not accepted; only 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, and £1 coins can be used in the hoppers.

The toll for a motor car is £1.00 per single journey. There is no toll charge for motorcycles. As there are no footpaths or cycle paths, cyclists and pedestrians have a free shuttle service operated by the crossing's staff.

The toll payable for using the bridge was supposed to end once the bridge had been paid for - which happened in 2003 - but the UK Government has chosen to continue the toll nonetheless - ostensibly on the grounds of safety (that removing the toll will increase traffic locally above the route's capacity).

Tolls charges are based on a three tier pricing system:

Toll Category Description	0600 - 2200 Charge	2200 - 0600 Charge
Pedal Cycle	FREE	FREE
Motor Cycle (with or without sidecar) or mechanically powered bicycle	FREE	FREE
Motor Car: including Motor Car with three wheels or Taxi	£1.00	£1.00
Light or Medium Goods Vehicle: Motor Coach, Omnibus or Tractor: having no more than two axles	£1.80	£1.00
Heavy Goods Vehicle, Motor Coach or Omnibus or Tractor having more than two axles	£2.90	£1.00
Special Type Vehicles Trailer - the same as for the vehicle towing it -Motor Cars for Disabled Persons - no charge if exempt from payment of Road Fund Tax	£2.90	£1.00

The DART-Tag is a device that enables drivers to pass through the tolls without stopping. The tag is fixed to the inner side of the windscreen and is linked to a sensor at the toll booths. The driver has an account with the DART-Tag that is credited with money. Each trip through the toll deducts the toll charge from their account. This saves the driver looking for coins when using the toll. A discount of 7.5% is gained by using the tag on each journey. Each toll booth works with the DART-Tag. DART-Tag is not currently compatible with other tags in the UK or mainland Europe but the forthcoming Interoperability Directive means that in future drivers should be able to use the tag at other crossings.

With daily traffic flows of 150,000 vehicles the crossing suffers regular traffic congestion especially during peak periods. The traffic problems are exacerbated further when the bridge closes due to high winds or when an accident closes one of the northbound tunnels. The UK government is hoping to alleviate the traffic problems by increasing the car tolls from £1 to £1.50 and offering free crossings from 10pm to 6am. The discount for Dart-Tag will increase - effectively pegging the toll back at £1 for cars to encourage take up of the device.

In the longer term the government is proposing to add extra capacity over the Thames. The Thames Gateway Bridge is a current scheme to add a bridge upstream, with the Lower Thames Crossing a possible scheme downstream.

The bridge has been featured briefly in the British films Four Weddings and a Funeral and also in Essex Boys. It also appears in the opening credits of the police drama Thief Takers and is used in opening scenes of regional news .

1. ^ The History Channel: 9th June - This day in history
2. ^ History. The Dartford - Thurrock River Crossing. UK Highways Agency.

• Dartford River Crossing website
  • Dart-Tag website
• Queen Elizabeth II Bridge in the Structurae database
• "Motorists 'let down' by toll u-turn", BBC, 1 April 2003. 
• "Protest over Dartford toll charge", BBC, 2 December 2005. 
• "Safety plans at Dartford crossing", BBC, 4 January 2006. 
• "Tunnel crash leads to 10-mile jam", BBC, 8 November 2006. 

Crossings of the River Thames
West: Dartford Cable Tunnel	Dartford Crossing	East: High Speed 1