QUEUE WHAT?
Drivers brace for travel carnage as Dartford crossing to close for 7 HOURS this weekend – will your journey be affected?
Busy bridge set to close from 10pm to 5am tonight and Sunday
DRIVERS have been warned to expect major delays this weekend as the Dartford Crossing is set to close for seven hours.
The QEII Bridge over the Thames is set to close from 10pm to 5am tonight and Sunday night.
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The bridge is used by around 180,000 cars every day and the closures are expected to lead to delays in the area.
Drivers planning on using the bridge are strongly advised to monitor travel alerts. Contraflow diversions will be in place during the closures.
Closures form part of National Highways maintenance plans for the bridge which have been ongoing since last summer.
The agency has been working in the west-bore tunnel at night to
conduct repairs to the tunnel’s infrastructure.
It links in with the M25 London Orbital Motorway, one of the busiest stretches of road in Europe.
It carries over 50 million vehicles a year and has been designed to handle 135,000 vehicles a day, but often carries the new average of 150,000 a day and up to 180,000 vehicles during busier periods.
National Highways said: “We’re carrying out an extensive programme of repairs and maintenance work over the next several years to keep journeys safe and reliable for road users."
London party boat SINKS as Storm Henk’s deluge forces Brits to evacuate amid 220 flood warnings & 2nd person killed
Drivers have also been warned to be aware of potential flooding this weekend due to heavy rain.
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Forecasters have urged Brits not to travel in the floods - with as little of 30cm able to drown a car.
A spokesperson for the Met Office said: "Patchy fog and frost will lift to leave many parts dry with sunny spells.
"However, showers will affect western areas, and the south coast of England, and a few will develop elsewhere during the day.
"[As we head into tonight] most of the showers will die out during the early evening, leaving a largely dry night with clear spells.
"Some fog and frost returning. Rain arriving in the southwest later."