Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many times the Dartford Crossing has closed in the last 12 months; and what the cause of each closure was.

The Dartford Crossing consists of two bored tunnels and the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge.

There has been only one planned closure in the last 12 months where the crossing has been fully closed i.e. both the bridge and the tunnels. This was for overnight works on 15 August 2015 for the removal and installation of new gantries for the Dartcharge project.

There have also been 81 occasions when either the bridge or one of the tunnel bores have been closed for planned construction or maintenance works. These works were carried out overnight when traffic flows are such that they can be accommodated by the remaining open elements of the crossing. The 81 occasions comprise 4 bridge closures, 42 west bore closures and 35 east bore closures.

There have been 9 unplanned bridge closures; twice for high wind and 7 for broken down vehicles, collisions and police-led incidents.

There have been 5 unplanned closures of the west tunnel; 4 traffic incidents and once to repair a road defect.

There have been 12 unplanned closures of the east tunnel; 10 times for traffic incidents (4 broken down vehicles, 5 collisions and one diesel spill) and twice for road repairs.