Dartford Crossing

The UK’s Highways Agency (HA) will open for traffic next month a new safety system designed to help improve traffic flow at the Dartford Crossing.

The new safety system is part of the Dart Charge project, which is speeding-up journeys at the Crossing by removing the need to stop at a barrier to pay the crossing charge.

The system will identify, stop and turn around vehicles that are oversized or carrying dangerous loads before they enter the tunnels, which run northbound from Kent into Essex.

Additionally, the system safely escorts vehicles carrying dangerous goods through the tunnels and stop vehicles entering the tunnels in the event of an incident.

"This new safety system is vital for the safe operation of the tunnels and will enable us to remove the old payment barriers for good."

Dart Charge project director Nigel Gray said: "Since Dart Charge launched in November, it has already significantly improved journeys at the Dartford Crossing.

"This new safety system is vital for the safe operation of the tunnels and will enable us to remove the old payment barriers for good.

"It will mean a significant change to the road layout, so I advise drivers to take extra care and pay extra attention to all signs and signals, especially for the first few times they use the crossing following the change."

Dart Charge was introduced in November last year and the new traffic safety system is part of changes being made to the road layout at the Crossing after this introduction.

According to HA, final road layout changes will be completed later this year when drivers will feel the full benefits of Dart Charge.

In order to introduce the system, tunnels are required to be closed overnight during the process and one tunnel will remain open at all times to reduce disruption.

Image: The new safety system at the Dartford Crossing will open for traffic over the weekend of 13 and 14 June. Photo: courtesy of UK Government.