essex travel news dartford crossing

Dartford Crossing

The Dartford Crossing of the River Thames combines the Queen Elizabeth II bridge and two tunnels, connecting Dartford in Kent and Thurrock in Essex. With about 160,000 crossings a day, it is one of the busiest road routes in Britain and is considered a part of the M25 motorway route. Tolls apply on the crossing, paid by the Dart Charge system, although it is free between 10pm and 6am. The first tunnel opened in 1963, the second in 1980 and the QE2 Bridge in 1991.

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Dartford Crossing: Drivers stuck in three-hour queues after police incident

Southbound traffic is being diverted through the east-bore of the dartford tunnel, article bookmarked.

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Drivers are stuck in three-hour queues as the southbound section of the Dartford Crossing from Essex to Kent is closed due to a police incident.

The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge has been shut since shortly after 6am, causing a severe traffic jam on the M25 , National Highways said.

Essex Police said in a statement: “We’re currently dealing with concerns for the welfare of a man on the Dartford River Crossing.

“The incident was reported to us shortly after 6am this morning.

“Traffic is being held on the crossing as we work to bring the situation to a safe conclusion.

“We understand this action will impact on people’s journeys and we will provide an update on the situation as soon as we practically can.”

Southbound traffic is being diverted through the east-bore of the Dartford Tunnel.

This has halved the capacity of the tunnel, which is normally exclusively used for northbound traffic.

National Highways said the incident is causing a three-hour delay for southbound vehicles approaching the crossing, and a 90-minute delay for northbound traffic.

At 10.20am Highway officials said they are now in the process of reopening the QEII Bridge at the Dartford Crossing.

“We are now in the process of re-opening the #A282 #QEIIBridge southbound at #DartfordCrossing,” said National Highways on social media.

“The contraflow in the eastbore tunnel has now been removed.

“We’ll have you moving again as soon as we can. Thanks for your patience this morning.”

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Three-hour delays on M25 between Essex and Kent as QEII Bridge closed due to police incident

• Dartford Crossing
• Essex Police
• Tuesday 12 March 2024 at 11:02am

Drivers are stuck in three-hour queues as the southbound section of the Dartford Crossing from Essex to Kent is closed due to a police incident.

The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge has been shut since shortly after 6am, causing a severe traffic jam on the M25, National Highways said.

Essex Police said in a statement: “We’re currently dealing with concerns for the welfare of a man on the Dartford River Crossing.

“The incident was reported to us shortly after 6am this morning.

“Traffic is being held on the crossing as we work to bring the situation to a safe conclusion.

“We understand this action will impact on people’s journeys and we will provide an update on the situation as soon as we practically can.”

Southbound traffic is being diverted through the east bore of the Dartford Tunnel.

This has halved the capacity of the tunnel, which is normally exclusively used for northbound traffic.

National Highways said the incident is causing a three-hour delay for southbound vehicles approaching the crossing, and a 90-minute delay for northbound traffic.

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Traffic Dartford Crossing

•   Dartford Crossing
• Nearby: Dartford Belhus Woolwich Erith Grays Bexleyheath

Current traffic around Dartford Crossing

The following traffic incidents and congestion for Dartford Crossing have been reported by Highways England, Traffic Scotland, Traffic Wales or Transport for London (TfL) in the last two hours:

Traffic in Nearby Villages

• Greenhithe (1.15mi)
• West Thurrock (1.19mi)
• Purfleet (1.2mi)
• Temple Hill (1.47mi)
• Stone (1.53mi)
• South Stifford (1.63mi)
• Lakeside (1.73mi)
• Knockhall (2.02mi)
• Swanscombe (2.02mi)
• Chafford Hundred (2.06mi)
• Darent (2.15mi)
• Fleet Downs (2.21mi)
• Aveley (2.26mi)
• New Town (2.34mi)
• Grays (2.59mi)
• Wennington (2.83mi)
• Bean (2.86mi)
• South Ockendon (2.91mi)
• North Stifford (2.94mi)
• Slade Green (3.03mi)
• Stonewood (3.07mi)
• Barnes Cray (3.15mi)
• Coldharbour (3.16mi)
• Lane End (3.43mi)

Dartford Crossing

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Traffic at standstill on Dartford Crossing over concerns for someone on bridge

Traffic at the Dartford Crossing bridge has been at a standstill this morning due to a police incident.

Police were called to concerns for someone on the QEII bridge just before 5.20am today (Friday May 17).

Traffic was held while police officers dealt with the scene.

RNLI lifeboats from Gravesend were sent to the incident by HM Coastguard at 5.30am.

The bridge has since been opened but long delays remain in the area.

Further updates will be released as and when police receive them.

Samaritans is available for help 24 hours a day on 116 123.

A spokesperson for Essex Police said: “The bridge is now fully open. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

“We are currently on scene of an incident on the Dartford Crossing.

“We had been called to concerns for someone on the bridge shortly before 5.20am today (Friday 17 May) and have responded.

“This is an ongoing incident and traffic is currently being held.

“Please plan your route, we appreciate your understanding and will provide an update as soon as we are able to.”

A spokesperson for RNLI lifeboats said: "Gravesend RNLI Lifeboats were tasked by HM Coastguard to the incident at 5.30am."

Dartford bridge CLOSED: M25 traffic chaos as police respond to people in road

Traffic remains at a standstill

By Felix Reeves

Published: 12/03/2024

Updated: 12/03/2024

'Traffic is being held on the crossing as we work to bring the situation to a safe conclusion'

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Drivers are still facing long delays on a vital motorway network despite the QE2 Bridge and Dartford Crossing being re-opened.

Traffic was stopped on the A282 Dartford Crossing Southbound in Essex because of a police-led incident, resulting in long delays, with some drivers stuck for hours.

The QEII Bridge at the Dartford Crossing is now open again on southbound road following the conclusion of police action.

National Highways has advised that delays of two hours will remain on the M25 clockwise and an hour and a half anti-clockwise.

Do you have a story you'd like to share? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]

National Highways and Essex Police have confirmed that the situation is ongoing

While both the QEII Bridge and the tunnels, which make up the crossing have now reopened, traffic is “expected to take some time to clear”.

Earlier this morning, drivers had been facing delays of three hours on the M25 clockwise approaching the crossing and a further one-hour delay heading anti-clockwise.

At one point, the AA reported severe delays of 183 minutes with further delays on the M25 clockwise between J29 A127 Southend Arterial Road (Romford / Basildon) and J1A A206 Bob Dunn Way.

Congestion on the road has been present since around 6am, as the South East branch of National Highways urged drivers to consider alternative routes.

Because of the nature of the incident, the road traffic organisation does not have any information on the estimated time of resolution.

Keeping drivers updated on social media, it added that severe delays were expected as the traffic clears.

Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, National Highways South-East, said: " A severe 2 hour delay remains on the #M25 clockwise and an hour and a half anti-clockwise and this is expected to take some time to clear. Thanks for your patience."

Earlier in the morning, Essex Police said: “We’re currently dealing with concerns for the welfare of a man on the Dartford River Crossing.

“The incident was reported to us shortly after 6am this AM. Traffic is being held on the crossing as we work to bring the situation to a safe conclusion.

“We of course understand this action will impact on people's journeys and we will provide an update on the situation as soon as we practically can.

“We would urge patience as we work to resolve the incident.”

The Gravesend branch of the RNLI was also dispatched to the Dartford Bridge, a spokesperson for the charity said.

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The Dartford Crossing carries around 50 million vehicles every year

It was requested to launch by HM Coastguard at around 6.15am this morning to assist Essex Police with the incident.

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Dartford crossing delays after police incident on bridge

Motorists have been warned of long delays after traffic was held for almost an hour during a police incident on the Dartford Crossing.

Essex Police said it was called to concerns about someone on the A282 QE2 bridge shortly before 05:20 BST.

Traffic was stopped on the southbound carriageway and was released by 06:34 BST.

National Highways East warned that delays of an hour were expected as traffic started moving again.

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