History of the Dartford Crossing
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- čas přidán 18. 08. 2022
- Since the first tunnel opened almost 60 years ago, demand to cross the river at Dartford has boomed from 2 million vehicles a year to over 50 million today. The Dartford Crossing has needed to grow and adapt to keep people moving. As traffic levels increase, an alterative free-flowing route across the Thames is needed to keep the Dartford Crossing moving.
Find out more, here: nationalhighways.co.uk/our-ro...
Additional stock footage provided by British Pathé.
I’ve an uncle in Whitfield Dover so I’ve been on the crossing what a journey greetings from Scotland 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
GET ON WITH IT! Dartford is grossly inadequate for today.
Shortly before the second tunnel opened, following a bomb scare, a policeman friend and his workmate were sent into the tunnel from the Kent side, meeting their opposite numbers from the Essex side somewhere in the middle. Instead of carrying on to the ends they all agreed to do a three point turn and go back. Possibly the only people to do so since its completion.
Sorry, I can not understand this message
We need more meetings about this
I could have been the first lorry through the second tunnel, but was in a hurry to get to the docks.
Good video
Existing Dartford crossing (in particular North Bound through the tunnels) is a an absolute catastrophe, it's midday on a Friday in May and looking at google maps the Northbound traffic is queuing from J3 at Swanley, around 6 miles. This is common most days of the week, and when it really snarls up the whole surrounding areas of Bexley and Gravesend grind to a halt. They need to fix the immediate problems first before starting on a new tunnel that will probably never get built or finished in my lifetime & I'm 55 !!
The non toll booth idea is a massive failure !!
Won’t this just incur even more traffic?
Surely there are ports further north it would be better to route traffic through?
It’ll just get clogged up in several years again.
Trouble is the shipping lines don't want to use them !
We need MORE TRAINS!
Part of the reason Boris invoked Lockdown was because Macron theatened to close Calais, as Boris originally intended to stick to the UK's well-researched pandemic plan revised in 2019, which was similar to Sweden. They concluded Lockdowns do not stop the spread of air born viruses and, worse still, the financial expense and health effects would be more catastrophic than the virus, as now shown with our recent inflation and current NHS problems. Had the UK built in more port redundancy with say Belgium, we might have saved a whole lot of pain. And avoided the need for the additional crossing. However, I believe the considerations are longer ferry crossing times and it is cheaper to develop one crossing to high capacity than 2 to improved capacity. Or he could have called Macron's bluff and directed all trade via Belgium and Netherlands while Macron faced his dock workers explaining why they might lose their jobs.
Appart from short cut and cover tunnels built for environmental reasons, will this be the first real tunnel in the UK with 3 lane's in each direction ?
And the Dartford crossing was supposed to have the tills removed when it was paid for sometime mid 2000s , that didn't happen!
Everyone forgot until the last minute and Blair's government could not afford to lose the revenue, so Labour rush through emergency legislation to extend the tolls. Our Labour MP, Dr Howard Stoate and paradoxically head of the asthma committee, voted with his government in favour. He did manage to get a concession on the toll fee for locals, but we continued to endure pollution and congestion. The disgrace may be the reason he chose not to stand for re-election. To be fair, the auto tolls have significantly reduced the effects on local roads.
The lower Thames crossing needs rail connection as well. Especially for Freight services to ease congestion in London. Can this not be considered along side the proposal?
One more lane will fix it.
That's why it's 3 lanes each way and yes, that should do it for quite some time!
Although an alternative road crossing to Dartford is useful, we must not forget the importance of high-quality, high-speed public transit and freight railways to help solve this congestion problem: with only roads, there will be significant induced demand, causing more vehicles to spill out onto the roads and bring the congestion back. The use of public transit and freight railways in conjunction with the Lower Thames Crossing should fight induced demand and reduce the number of vehicles on the roads significantly.
If this tunnel ever opens what are they planning to do about the congestion between J30 and J28? I look at the M25 at J29 which is purgatory at the best of times, but imagine adding more traffic to it!! As a side issue, very close to where I live Nat Highways have buggered a perfectly good arable farm to plant trees (to offset the extra pollution) at god knows what harm to the wildlife that has used it for countless decades. We have hundreds of geese which collect here before their migration flight, who now have no space to land and rest and feed.
The Silvertown Crossing will cause massive congestion and pollution in Greenwich, where it dumps out its six lanes of traffic onto local roads.
I use this crossing every day ,those tunnels at 5pm are a nightmare, km queuing back to junction 3 nearly every day, they promised free crossings once its paid for and free flowing after sacking those poor workers in the booths .niether has happened, so yes please hurry with a new crossing.
But the picture is of Dover harbour. A crossing and a harbour are two different things.
At about 3:01, it describes the proposed new tunnel as being 2.6 m long, then describes it as the longest road tunnel... I assume it should say 2.6 Km. Bad typo, Highways Agency...
Hi Sarah, thanks for your comment. The tunnel is 2.6 miles long. In future videos, we'll be sure to write 'miles' instead of using 'm' to avoid any confusion. Thank you.
@@lowerthames Now do that on your road signs. (e.g. say '1 mile' instead of '1 m'.)
This is totally unsustainable. In other European countries the only way such links get built is if they also incorporate rail links. e.g. Fehmarn between Denmark and Germany.
I don’t think you’ve done your research or your not telling the truth. Either way this will not ease anything the Silvertown tunnel is a prime example the road network needs improvement first as with the Silvertown tunnel your moving the problem at a massive expense to the taxpayers then charging everyone to use it. The Dartford crossing was supposed to be free once paid for Never happened while it takes around 65 million a year in revenue
Is this tunnel just so you can build more and more houses in north Kent ?
Surely after almost 100 years of adding more lanes and seeing them quickly becoming just as congested, if not more so, than the original roads you've got to realise that adding more lanes doesn't solve congestion? Cars are the most inefficient and environmentally damaging form of transport after air travel, not to mention motorways are ugly and disgusting pieces of infrastructure that ruin the ambience of anywhere unfortunate enough to be near them. If we're serious about fixing climate change and building a more productive, equal and beautiful country this money would be much better spent on public transport investment
BUILD MORE TRAINS!
Population increase adds more cars and passengers thus increasing the need for both railways and motorways! That's why projects like this are needed.
Climate Change is a guilt-trip mechanism created by globalists against ordinary people so as transfer wealth and power - ULEZ is a perfect example of this.
Indeed and the new crossing is expected to be at capacity 5 years before it opens. Loading most of it on trains at Dover to ship to regional hubs may be the solution, but an expensive one.
Stop talking, start building.