Part of the Dartford Crossing is closed after a too-tall lorry tried to enter one of the Tunnels and ripped ‘essential equipment’ with it.
Drivers in the Dartford area on the A282 have been caught in traffic mayhem since yesterday, when a lorry struck the left tunnel heading northbound between J1a and J31.
Congestion is building up, with motorists facing around 30-minute delays and two miles of congestion backing onto the M25 in Kent.
National Highways warned that the left tunnel is likely to remain closed throughout the day while engineers continue to work on repairs.
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It said: ‘A lorry that was over the permissible height entered the left tunnel during Friday, 23 January, and in doing so struck multiple pieces of essential equipment and tunnel infrastructure resulting in extensive damage to the tunnel ventilation systems, CCTV, and the fire detection/suppression system.
‘This equipment is essential to the safe operation of the tunnel and therefore traffic cannot flow through it until these systems are fully operational.
‘Since the incident, teams of engineers have been on site working in overlapping shift patterns to assess and repair the damage to the safety infrastructure, but the extent of this means the tunnel is likely to remain closed throughout today.’
While the east (right) tunnel remains open for drivers, delays are expected on the approach to Dartford Crossing, National Highways said.
The highways operator added: ‘We understand the disruption this closure has on those planning on using the northbound Dartford Crossing. We have all available personnel and resources available continuing to work at pace to address this issue and get the damaged tunnel reopened as soon as it is safe to do so.’
The Dartford Crossing includes the two tunnels, which take traffic northbound, and the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge going south.
It is the UK’s busiest crossing, handling over 150,000 vehicles every day.
Incidents at the Dartford Crossing area and the M25 can spillover into the nearby roads, creating gridlocks for local residents when smaller roads are used as diversions.
The crossing has made headlines in recent years after reports of wrongly issued fines worth £4 million.
Drivers have to pay the Dart Charge to use it, but some motorists who had never used the crossing were handed a penalty charge notice.
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