Busy motorway tunnel used by 150,000 drivers per day will SHUT this weekend for major works – check full diversion route
A BUSY motorway tunnel used by 150,000 drivers per day will be shut this weekend for major works – with a full diversion route in place.
Drivers have been advised to avoid Dartford Crossing from Saturday through to Monday.
Sections of the northbound carriageway and both its east and west tunnels will be closed at various times for road works.
The Dartford Crossing connects Dartford in Kent to Thurrock in Essex via the A282.
Closures will start each night from 10pm and reopen at 5am the next morning.
And diversions will be in operation via National Highways roads.
From Saturday, February 8 to Sunday, February 9, the affected sections include the A282 Northbound and the West Tunnel.
From Sunday, February 9 to Monday, February 10, closures include A282 Northbound and the East Tunnel.
Although the closure timings are currently between 10pm and 5am, they may be subject to change from causes such as the weather.
It comes after the government announced its plans to built a huge motorway-style tunnel that could cost £9 billion.
To be called the Lower Thames Crossing, the 14.3-mile route – which will be the longest of its kind in the UK – will run through Essex and Kent.
The project, that would link the town of Tilbury in Essex to Medway in Kent, would also be connected to the A2 and M2 in Kent, as well as the A13 and M25 in Essex.
It would also provide transport links between London and crossings to Dover – which, of course, account for half of the goods traded between Britain and mainland Europe.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves discussed the endeavour at length on Wednesday and pledged to explore private financing options ahead of the Transport Secretary’s decision on its future in May.
First planned back in 2009, the Lower Thames Crossing would reportedly see 13 million vehicles redirected away from the heavily congested Dartford Crossing.
It’s been estimated that the costs of lost productivity from congestion on the Dartford Crossing have exceeded £200million each year, with the route disproportionately used by freight vehicles transporting goods.
Speaking to the Express, Natalie Chapman, Head of Public Affairs for Logistics UK, said: “Our biggest current challenge is that the Dartford Crossing, as it stands, is operating daily over its design capacity.
“At the moment, there’s very little alternative when things go wrong, as they regularly do.”
At present, the future of the project hinges on the Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi Alexander, approving a development consent order by the deadline of 23 May.
Reeves’s endorsement has been described as a “promising sign” of the government’s willingness to direct private investment towards transport infrastructure.
The building of the Lower Thames Crossing would also have a positive impact on motorists; journey times at the Dartford Crossing would likely improve by around 30% and increase to 46% between Kent and Essex.
It’s also estimated that it would inject around £40bn into the UK economy.