Dartford Crossing

The Dartford Crossing carries the A282 road over the River Thames between Dartford in Kent and Thurrock in Essex. It is the only fixed road crossing of the Thames east of Greater London and the busiest estuarial crossing in the United Kingdom. More than 130,000 vehicles use it every day. The crossing has two bored tunnels and the cable-stayed Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. The west tunnel opened in 1963, the east tunnel in 1980 and the bridge in 1991.

The crossing is a vital transport link for the national and South East economies. It handles four lanes of traffic in each direction and has a design capacity of 135,000 vehicles per day. The Highways Agency calls it a crucial part of the country’s strategic road network. The crossing and its approaches are equipped with lane control and variable-message signs to manage heavy traffic. Southbound traffic crosses the four-lane bridge while northbound traffic uses the two-lane tunnels.

Visitors driving across see the wide river and the cable-stayed bridge rising 137 metres above the water. The approach roads are part of the M25 orbital route but the crossing itself is an all-purpose road. The speed limit is 50 miles per hour in both directions. The crossing can close in high winds or for maintenance, when all traffic uses the tunnels. The road across the Thames is named Canterbury Way.