Dartford Bridge (Crossing), Kent / Essex - postcard (pre-opening) c.1990

• Postcard

   

• Picture / Image:  The Thames Bridge, Dartford [Kent] crossing to Essex - "Official opening will be in October 1991"
• Publisher: DBC Public Relations
• Postally used: no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s): n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition: 

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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The Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing, commonly known as the Dartford Crossing and until 1991 the Dartford Tunnel, is a major road crossing of the River Thames in England, carrying the A282 road between Dartford in Kent in the south and Thurrock in Essex in the north. It consists of two bored tunnels and the cable-stayed Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. The only fixed road crossing of the Thames east of Greater London, it is the busiest estuarial crossing in the United Kingdom, with an average daily use of over 130,000 vehicles.[1] It opened in stages: the west tunnel in 1963, the east tunnel in 1980 and the bridge in 1991. The crossing, although not officially designated a motorway, is considered part of the M25 motorway's route, using the tunnels northbound and bridge southbound. Described as one of the most important road crossings in Britain, it suffers from heavy traffic and congestion.

The crossing's development started in the late 1930s, but was interrupted due to the Second World War and resumed in the 1950s. The original tunnel catered for a single lane of traffic in each direction, but rising traffic levels required the second tunnel to be built. The M25 connected to the tunnels at both ends when completed in 1986, and this increased traffic put pressure on the tunnels' capacity. A Private Finance Initiative scheme was started in 1988 to build the bridge. The combined crossing now handles four lanes of traffic in each direction.

The crossing has always been tolled, and though the cost of construction has since been paid back, the toll was retained, and rebranded as a congestion pricing scheme from 1 April 2003. Since 2008 it has been free from 10 pm to 6 am. An automatic number plate recognition charging scheme named the "Dart Charge" began in November 2014. As a result, the booths on the Kent side were removed and the charge is now only payable online, by post, or in certain participating retail outlets. A residents' scheme is available, offering discounts for people living near the crossing.

The crossing spans the River Thames between Dartford, Kent, to the south and Thurrock, Essex, to the north. It is about 20 miles (32 km) east of the centre of London, outside the Greater London boundary.[2] The two tunnels are 1,430 metres (4,690 ft) long,[3] while the cable-stayed bridge is 137 metres (449 ft) high[a] with a main span of 450 metres (1,480 ft).[5] A 50 miles per hour (80 km/h) speed limit is in place in both directions.[6] The rail line High Speed 1, between St Pancras and Ebbsfleet International Stations, passes under the crossing approach roads on the north side of the river, at a near right angle.[7]

The design capacity is 135,000 vehicles per day, but in practice the crossing carries around 160,000.[8] It has been described by the Highways Agency as "a vital transport link for the national and South East economies",[9] by the former Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin, as "a crucial part of the country's strategic road network",[10] and by the local Thurrock Council as "one of Europe's most heavily used crossings and complex traffic management systems".[11] It is signed as a major destination on London's orbital route, the M25, though the crossing and its approach road are an all-purpose road (the A282),[b] allowing some (though not all) non-motorway traffic to use it. Southbound traffic crosses the four-lane bridge, while northbound traffic uses both of the two-lane road tunnels. The bridge can be closed due to high winds[6] or maintenance. On these occasions, traffic uses the tunnels in both directions.[15] The crossing and its approaches, like most UK motorways, is equipped with lane control and variable message signs to manage traffic.

Alternative routes

The next nearest vehicle crossings to the west of Dartford are the Woolwich Ferry and the Blackwall Tunnel, both well within East London. When the bridge is closed in high winds and for maintenance, no convenient diversion exists through London for the higher-limit southbound vehicles. Those over 5.03 metres (16.5 ft) are diverted around the far side of the M25.[16]

During the early 1980s, it was anticipated that traffic through the tunnel would rise on the completion of the M25 in 1986. At the time, the expectation was that other routes in London would be improved instead, diverting 15% of traffic away from the tunnel.[58] In 1985, the Transport Minister, Lynda Chalker, announced that the number of toll booths would be increased to 12 each way, but concern grew that two tunnels would not be able to cope with the full demands of a completed M25.[59]

Between September 1985 and December 1986, proposals for improvements to the Dartford Crossing underwent several changes,[60] and in 1986, a Trafalgar House consortium won a bid to build a new bridge at Dartford crossing, valued at £86 million (£208 million in 2019[42]).[47] At the time there were several other privately financed projects planned or under construction in the UK, including the Second Severn Crossing. From 1981 until the establishment of the Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs) in the late 1980s, private investment projects were governed by the Ryrie Rules which dictated that "any privately-financed solution must be shown to be more cost-effective than a publicly-financed alternative, and that privately-financed expenditure by nationalised industries could not be additional to public expenditure provision" [annual budget], "which would be reduced by the amount of private finance borrowed."[61]

On 31 July 1988, a Private Finance Initiative concession was enabled under the Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Act 1988, which transferred control of the crossing from Kent and Essex county councils to Dartford River Crossing Limited, a private company managed by Rodney Jones.[62] The company would also bear the debt of the bridge, then under construction, "financed 100% by debt, with no equity contribution".[63][c] The private company was at risk of not recuperating their costs, but ultimately the Dartford scheme demonstrated that the Ryrie Rules were no longer a barrier to the private financing of public infrastructure projects.[65] The concession was scheduled for 20 years from the transfer date, with a stipulation that it could end when debts had been paid off, which was agreed to have been achieved on 31 March 2002.[66] According to the International Handbook on Public-Private Partnership, the chief financing for the project came from a "20-year subordinated loan stock, 16-year loan stock and £85 million (£184 million in 2019[42]) as a term loan from banks".[65] The construction contract was let to a joint venture of Kværner, Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company and the Cementation Company.[67]

Construction of the bridge started immediately after the creation of the PFI in 1988.[68] It was designed by German civil engineer Hellmut Homberg [de], with the UK's Halcrow Group acting as category 3 check engineer, employer's agent and engineering adviser.[69] The two main caissons supporting the bridge piers were constructed in the Netherlands. Each caisson was designed to withstand a bridge strike of a ship weighing up to 65,000 tonnes and travelling up to 18.5 kilometres per hour (11.5 mph)[70] The bridge deck is about 61 metres (200 ft) high, and it took a team of around 56 to assemble its structure. During construction of the approach road, a World War II bomb was found in its path, which required closure of the entire crossing.[71]

The bridge was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 30 October 1991.[72] The total cost of construction was £120 million (£224 million in 2019[42]), including £30 million (£52 million in 2019[42]) for the approach roads.[73] The proposed name had been simply the Dartford Bridge, but Thurrock residents objected and suggested the Tilbury Bridge, leading to a compromise.[71] At the time of opening, it had the longest cable-stayed span of any bridge in Europe.[70] It is the only bridg

A number of new crossings have been proposed as relief for the Dartford Crossing. The proposed Thames Gateway Bridge to the west was given planning permission by Transport for London (TfL) in December 2004,[17] but was cancelled in November 2008 when Boris Johnson became Mayor of London.[18] Johnson subsequently proposed the Gallions Reach Ferry, a ferry crossing in the same location, as an alternative.[19] The Lower Thames Crossing is a proposed tunnel to the east between Shorne, Kent and South Ockendon, Essex.[20][21] Thurrock Council suggest that this crossing will be essential for managing congestion.[22] A public consultation on the scheme ended in March 2016, with the route announced in April 2017,[21][23][24] though Highways England do not expect to start construction before 2022.[25]