My Secret Dartford

Source: Highways England  What's the deal with Dartford Traffic?  Just ask anybody from Dartford and they will have plenty to say on the matter! Routinely the M25 experiences traffic delays which can be exacerbated by trouble on the A2 snarling up road junctions in the surrounding areas.  Before long local roads inevitably back up and the whole of Dartford routinely grinds to a stand still, a hostage to the traffic.  Fun fact (ready irony here),  the detrimental impact to local air quality is significant 'For much of a typical day in many areas close to the crossing does not meet current air quality standards.'  The proposed solution is to build a Lower Thames Crossing to release pressure on Dartford/Thurrock crossing point.  The road will be 23km long including a 4km twin tunnel.  It will be the second longest road in the country connecting Gravesham, Kent with Turrock.  The project is expected to be completed in 2027.  Traffic capacity will increase across the Thames from

Dartford Beach View from Greenhithe   The Pathway beneath The QE2 The QE2 Bridge is as magnificent as it is imposing on the landscape. To truly see the secrets of the bridge you need to walk underneath it. Everyday this bridge carries vehicles between two counties completing the ring that is he M25 motorway but how many people can say they have seen its underside? You can join a footpath towards the bridge in two main locations. Next to the entrance of Asda in Greenhithe is a footpath which leads along to the Thames. If you follow it under the bridge you can exit at the 125 cycle route which take you onto the Bridge Estate. Running alongside the QE2 are two tunnels beneath the Thames. They were opened in 1963 and 1980. The bridge opened in 1991. It is 137m high and was designed to carry 135,000 vehicles daily. Unfortunately, as anybody who lives in Dartford or Thurrock knows congestion has become progressively worse and there are frequent heavy delays which are the bain of

BBC Essex Kent Live Thurrock Gazette Highways England It is hard to imagine a time before the M25 sliced though Dartford and the bridge linked it up.  Before the QE2 Bridge construction there was originally just the tunnels linking Kent and Essex.  Work on the first tunnel began in 1936 and was paused by the Second World War.  It resumed in the 1950s opening in 1963 allowing for single lane traffic in both directions.  The second tunnel opened in 1980.