A MAJOR bridge is set to close this week impacting thousands of drivers.
Motorists are being urged to check diversion routes as essential maintenance and resurfacing works get underway.
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The Dartford Crossing will see overnight closures this week which have been scheduled between Tuesday, May 6 and Friday, May 9.
Both northbound and southbound routes across the A282 will be affected by the works with multiple slip road and tunnel closures.
Motorists are advised to check for alternative routes and allow extra time for travel.
They should also expect delays and keep an eye on the weather with timings subject to change depending on conditions.
According to National Highways, the works are crucial to ensure “continued safety, reliability and performance of the tunnels for all road users”.
They added: “To do the works safely and effectively, there will be extended closure times on specific dates.
“These temporary changes are necessary to provide our maintenance teams with sufficient time to complete tasks that cannot be done safely while the tunnels are open to traffic.”
The Dartford Crossing is one of the busiest routes over the River Thames, linking Dartford in Kent to Thurrock in Essex.
It carries over 50 million vehicles a year and an average of 150,000 a day.
Elsewhere in Kent, residents of Tunbridge Wells face nearly half a year of diversions for key gas works.
Starting yesterday, gas distribution company SGN will replace 2.2 miles of gas mains on Upper Grosvenor road.
SGN said: “It’s part of a 30-year programme to replace our old metal mains reaching the end of their useful lives with new plastic pipe.”
The gas network upgrades were given the green light to provide a safe and efficient gas supply to residents, they added.
Dartford Crossing closures:
Wednesday, May 7 – Thursday May, 8
A282 Southbound
A282 Southbound Junction 1a – exit slip road closure
Clockwise Junction 31 to Junction 1a QEII bridge Lane and exit slip road closure for resurfacing works (10pm – 5.30am)
Thursday, May 8 – Friday, May 9
A282 Southbound
A282 Southbound Junction 1a exit slip road closure
Clockwise Junction 31 to Junction 1a QEII bridge Lane and exit slip road closure for resurfacing works (10pm – 5.30am)
A282 Northbound
A282 Northbound Dartford Crossing West Tunnel closure
West Tunnel closure for maintenance works (11pm – 5.30am)
A282 Northbound Junction 1a entry slip road closure (11pm – 5.30am)
Diversions:
East tunnel: Vehicles less than 4.8m (15′-9″) high will be diverted via the west tunnel. Vehicles between 4.8m (15‘-9”) and 5.0m (16’-6”) high will be diverted via M25 clockwise.
West tunnel: drivers will be diverted via the east tunnel.
Maintenance works will also cause the closure of a major motorway for an entire weekend next month.
Closures between the Rownhams Interchange and Junction 1 of the M271 between May 30 and June 2.
The M1 motorway saw major disruption too over the bank holiday as 17 million Brits hit the roads for the weekend.
The crash disrupted all northbound journeys, while emergency services assessed the scene.
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