£25million to ease hold-ups at Dartford Tunnel (From Basildon Recorder)
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£25million to ease hold-ups at Dartford Tunnel
4:27pm Friday 31st August 2012 in Echo News By Lucy Kirby, Chief Reporter
Notorious – traffic toll booths at the Dartford Crossing
MILLIONS of pounds are set to be spent in a bid to ease congestion at the Dartford Crossing.
The Highways Agency has set aside £25million to make improvements at the junction on the M25, which is a notorious bottleneck.
The project will see a range of civil engineering works carried out, including the demolition of toll booths, which will eventually see congestion charge style cameras brought in to speed up traffic through the crossing.
Work will also be done realigning carriageways, putting up better signs, improving kerbs, drainage, lighting, fences, gates and traffic management, as well as vehicle height and width sensors, CCTV, ramp metering, and new traffic signals and road barrier systems.
A start date for the work is yet to be finalised, but it’s part of £75million of works being carried out across the M25.
A spokesman for the Highways Agency said it hoped to get rid of the barriers by October 2014.
The spokesman said: “The Government recognises the importance of the Dartford Crossing, as a vital transport link for the national and South East economies. Improvements at the crossing are an important priority “As part of these improvements, the Highways Agency is delivering a free-flow charging arrangement at the crossing, using newer technology and road layout changes to allow the safe operation of the crossing, while removing the need for drivers to stop at a barrier.
“We are on course to deliver these improvements by October 2014.”
The agency’s main contractor, Connect Plus, will now hold a suppliers’ day on September 10, to try and find companies capable of carrying out the work.
Interested firms need to pre-register for the event by sending their details to supplieday@connectplusm25.co.uk by September 6.
Comments(23)
God Almighty
says...
4:59pm Fri 31 Aug 12
Eric Whim wrote:I second that, would save loads of money, time and inconvenience. A curse on dishonest politicians, which seems to mean most of them.
take out the tollbooths and suspend the toll - that's the sensibe solution to the traffic problems at the crossing
firedog
says...
5:18pm Fri 31 Aug 12
shallotman
says...
5:52pm Fri 31 Aug 12
shallotman
says...
5:52pm Fri 31 Aug 12
Nebs
says...
6:19pm Fri 31 Aug 12
Max 269
says...
6:38pm Fri 31 Aug 12
Max 269
says...
6:38pm Fri 31 Aug 12
billericay boy
says...
7:47pm Fri 31 Aug 12
Spend the money on another bridge or tunnel along the estuary. They did promise that tolls would be stopped when the bridge was paid for. Greed.
Audioman
says...
8:07pm Fri 31 Aug 12
You could build a new bridge for £25 million.
Audioman
says...
8:07pm Fri 31 Aug 12
You could build a new bridge for £25 million.
EssexPerson
says...
8:35pm Fri 31 Aug 12
Its just a smoke screen to increase the price even more under the lie 'to pay for this new equipment which is for the benefit of us drivers'.
Its already set to increase 33% in October. What other option do we have? We are a captive audience.
Nebs
says...
10:58pm Fri 31 Aug 12
EssexPerson wrote:We have plenty of options. Go slows, payment in pennies, payment with a £50 note, take a leaf out of the French Book Of Protests and set fire to some sheep on the carriageway. Or we could just pay what they ask.
Every sensible person knows and has been saying for years that the solution is to remove the toll booths to speed up traffic and remove congestion. They are now twisting that to their advantage and will claim it was a marvellous success by introducing camera style charging and their policy worked.
Its just a smoke screen to increase the price even more under the lie 'to pay for this new equipment which is for the benefit of us drivers'.
Its already set to increase 33% in October. What other option do we have? We are a captive audience.
Gay Ray
says...
8:08am Sat 1 Sep 12
Nebs wrote:I think you may have trouble with payment in pennies, Nebs. The following is an extract from the Royal Mint's website:
EssexPerson wrote:We have plenty of options. Go slows, payment in pennies, payment with a £50 note, take a leaf out of the French Book Of Protests and set fire to some sheep on the carriageway. Or we could just pay what they ask.
Every sensible person knows and has been saying for years that the solution is to remove the toll booths to speed up traffic and remove congestion. They are now twisting that to their advantage and will claim it was a marvellous success by introducing camera style charging and their policy worked.
Its just a smoke screen to increase the price even more under the lie 'to pay for this new equipment which is for the benefit of us drivers'.
Its already set to increase 33% in October. What other option do we have? We are a captive audience.
"Coins are legal tender throughout the United Kingdom for the following amount:
£5 (Crown) - for any amount
£2 - for any amount
£1 - for any amount
50p - for any amount not exceeding £10
25p (Crown) - for any amount not exceeding £10
20p - for any amount not exceeding £10
10p - for any amount not exceeding £5
5p - for any amount not exceeding £5
2p - for any amount not exceeding 20p
1p - for any amount not exceeding 20p"
I discovered this when trying to pay an escort from the West End with the contents of my Rupert the Bear piggy bank.
rjsizzler
says...
9:09am Sat 1 Sep 12
Audioman wrote:And the rest! It cost £86m to build the current bridge in 1991.
Now you will see the price jump up.
You could build a new bridge for £25 million.
Southend65
says...
9:37am Sun 2 Sep 12
Benefits:-
(1) Massively improve flow over QE2 bridge
(2) Get rid of some of the miserable buggers that man the tolls
(3) Still allow control of speed/traffic flow into the tunnel
(4) Minimal effort
V_is_back
says...
9:50am Sun 2 Sep 12
Nebs wrote:Why not? In order to pay for the damage caused to society by motor vehicles motoring taxes need to triple anyway.
The first step on the slippery slope to road pricing.
"The report recommends:
• Government should make every effort to avoid further delays in fuel duty increases.
• Government and local agencies should look for new ways to extend road pricing and congestion charging, particularly where these can provide a future revenue stream to finance improvements in public transport infrastructure and services.
• Measures to improve bus and coach services, which are the most accessible form of public transport, particularly in areas with poor rail connections, should also be prioritised. Given that bus fares have increased more than for any other mode of transport, priority should be given to bringing down these costs.
• Improvements in public transport, walking and cycling facilities should also be supported through an increase in government support for transport capital projects. Given the current low interest rates, there is a real opportunity available now to make much-needed improvements in public transport and other infrastructure that can increase patronage and reduce the environmental impacts of existing fleets and stock. The nascent Green Investment Bank should be empowered to begin borrowing immediately to support these projects"
http://www.politicsh
ome.com/uk/article/5
9905/ippr_osborne_sh
ould_support_squeeze
d_rail_%26_bus_users
_not_another_tax_giv
eaway_for_motorists.
html
Major Incident
says...
12:12pm Sun 2 Sep 12
Gay Ray wrote:In addition it is a little known fact that there is absolutely no obligation on a retailer or service provider to give change if the payer does not have the correct money. The onus is on the "buyer" to have the correct amount. You could pay with a large bank note but they don't have to give change.
Nebs wrote:I think you may have trouble with payment in pennies, Nebs. The following is an extract from the Royal Mint's website: "Coins are legal tender throughout the United Kingdom for the following amount: £5 (Crown) - for any amount £2 - for any amount £1 - for any amount 50p - for any amount not exceeding £10 25p (Crown) - for any amount not exceeding £10 20p - for any amount not exceeding £10 10p - for any amount not exceeding £5 5p - for any amount not exceeding £5 2p - for any amount not exceeding 20p 1p - for any amount not exceeding 20p" I discovered this when trying to pay an escort from the West End with the contents of my Rupert the Bear piggy bank.EssexPerson wrote: Every sensible person knows and has been saying for years that the solution is to remove the toll booths to speed up traffic and remove congestion. They are now twisting that to their advantage and will claim it was a marvellous success by introducing camera style charging and their policy worked. Its just a smoke screen to increase the price even more under the lie 'to pay for this new equipment which is for the benefit of us drivers'. Its already set to increase 33% in October. What other option do we have? We are a captive audience.We have plenty of options. Go slows, payment in pennies, payment with a £50 note, take a leaf out of the French Book Of Protests and set fire to some sheep on the carriageway. Or we could just pay what they ask.
AndyBSG
says...
8:59am Mon 3 Sep 12
Audioman wrote:Maybe if you built it out of papier mache!
Now you will see the price jump up.
You could build a new bridge for £25 million.
The current bridge cost over 200 million and that was 20 years ago.
AndyBSG
says...
9:04am Mon 3 Sep 12
Max 269 wrote:Just gossip by people who don't understand.
Is it not now owned by a french company? or is that just motorway service station gossip.If so why is the British tax payer forking out again
It's a consortium company that collects and administers the charges and is the same one that is responsible for the maintenance and management of the entire M25... but they don't own the M25 or the Crossing!
notinwestcliffanymore
says...
7:49pm Mon 3 Sep 12
EthanEdwards
says...
9:14am Tue 4 Sep 12
AndyBSG wrote:They were handed the concession for 25 years by Labour Transport Minister Lord Adonis. So short of a revolution there is nothing we can do.
Max 269 wrote: Is it not now owned by a french company? or is that just motorway service station gossip.If so why is the British tax payer forking out againJust gossip by people who don't understand. It's a consortium company that collects and administers the charges and is the same one that is responsible for the maintenance and management of the entire M25... but they don't own the M25 or the Crossing!
Vive la revolucion eh?
DougDriver
says...
8:13pm Tue 25 Sep 12
Eric Whim says...
4:37pm Fri 31 Aug 12