Francais | English | Espanõl

Dartford Crossing

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from QE2 Bridge)
Jump to: navigation, search
Queen Elizabeth II Bridge redirects here, for other bridges of the same name, see Queen Elizabeth Bridge (disambiguation)
Image:Wiki letter w.svg Please expand this article.
Further information might be found in a section of the talk page or at Requests for expansion.
Image:Queen Elizabeth II bridge Penny Mayes.jpg

The Dartford Crossing joins Dartford and Thurrock across the River Thames. It effectively forms part of London's orbital M25 motorway. Technically, however, the M25 is not a complete circle: it ends shortly before the crossing on each side of the river. The crossing itself is the A282 and it consists of two tunnels under the river and the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. On or near the bridge Canary Wharf can be seen.

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

  • First tunnel opened 1963
  • Second tunnel opened 1980
  • M25 access completed 1986
  • Queen Elizabeth II Bridge opened 1991

The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge (A282) was built to expand crossing capacity between sections of the M25 motorway.

Prior to the opening of the bridge in 1991, the crossing was usually referred to as the "Dartford Tunnel". Southbound traffic uses the Queen Elizabeth II bridge, a four-lane cable-stayed bridge designed by Sir William Halcrow & Partners Ltd, while northbound traffic uses a pair of two-lane tunnels. Before the bridge was built, the two tunnels carried traffic in opposite directions (and still do on occasions when the bridge has to be closed due to high winds).

Contents

[edit] The Bridge

The central span is 450 m long, is suspended 65 m above the Thames (to accommodate ocean-going cruise liners) and is thus sometimes closed due to high winds. It is a toll bridge and accommodates four lanes of southbound traffic from the M25. When closed due to high winds, one of the two adjacent tunnels is used instead.

When it was opened on the 30 October 1991, it was Europe's largest cable-supported bridge. The approach viaducts on the Essex side measure 1052 m, and 1008 m on the Kent side, giving the total length of 2872 m. It has an expected life span of 120 years.

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.

The Channel Tunnel Rail Link 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.

[edit] Tolls

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 2200 - 0600 hours for certain types of vehicles.

Each toll both has a digital time display to show the exact time a payment at the toll booth is made, thus the time of the crossing.

The toll for a motor car is £1:00 per single journey.

Some of the toll gates accept coins thrown into a hopper (no ticket is issued). This speeds up flow through the gates for those that have the necessary coins available.

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).

There are no footpaths or cyclepaths either in the tunnels or on the bridge. Cyclists and pedestrians have a free shuttle service operated by the crossing's staff. Motorcycles cross at no charge, all other vehicles must pay a toll. Tolls for both directions of travel are collected at toll gates on the south side of the crossing.

[edit] Dart-Tag

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 windowscreen 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 is gained by using the tag on each journey. Each toll booth works with the Dart-Tag.

[edit] Traffic Congestion

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 toll for Dart-Tag customers will be pegged back at £1 to encourage take up of the device. A petition against government proposals to raise the tolls can be signed at http://www.kentonline.co.uk/petition

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.

[edit] Trivia

The bridge has been featured briefly in the British films Four Weddings and a Funeral and also in Essex Boys.

Dartford 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.

[edit] External links


Next crossing upstream River Thames Next crossing downstream
Woolwich Ferry (vehicular)
Woolwich foot tunnel (pedestrian)
Dartford Cable Tunnel (private) 		Dartford Crossing
Grid reference: TQ570764 		Channel Tunnel Rail Link
(tunnel under construction)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikivisual.com/index.php/Dartford_Crossing"
Personal tools