Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on how many occasions in the last 12 months the Dartford Crossing has been closed; and what the cause was of each such closure.
Answered by John Hayes
The Dartford Crossing consists of two northbound tunnels and the southbound Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. In the last 12 month period there were a total of 14 occasions when the crossing was fully closed either northbound or southbound.
There were six bridge closures (four due to high winds, one due to a police led incident and one due to a suicide), four tunnel closures (one due to problems with the Traffic Safety System, one due to problems with the reporting tool for fire safety and two due to car fires) and four closures of the carriageway leading up to the crossing due to police led incidents.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) cars and (b) HGVs that will use the Dartford Crossing in the next (i) year, (ii) five years and (iii) 10 years.
Answered by John Hayes
Highways England is continuously reviewing the performance of the Dartford Crossing following the introduction of the Dart Charge scheme in 2014 and as part of the wider strategic road network.
As part of its options works for the Lower Thames Crossing, Highways England carried out a traffic modelling assessment and traffic flow forecasts were produced for the Dartford Crossing for the next (iii) 10 years, until 2025 (the proposed scheme opening year), and 2041 (the scheme design year) as set out in the consultation materials. This included the number of light vehicles (cars) and heavy goods vehicles.
The annual average daily traffic flow at the Dartford Crossing is forecast to rise from 140,000 vehicles in 2014 to 159,300 vehicles in 2025. Of this daily total 130,700 are (a) light vehicle and 28,600 and (b) heavy goods vehicles.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the proposed tolling of the Blackwall Tunnel on traffic levels using the Dartford Crossing.
Answered by John Hayes
None. This is primarily a matter for Transport for London (TfL), which has considered it in some detail as part of its plans for the proposed new Silvertown tunnel. TfL has undertaken a detailed assessment of the transport impacts of the proposed new tunnel as part of the Development Consent Order (DCO) application that it has submitted for the scheme. This assessment includes consideration of the impacts on traffic flows locally and more widely of tolling both the new tunnel and the existing Blackwall tunnel. In short, it concludes that the impact of the tolling of both the Silvertown and Blackwall tunnels on the performance of the Dartford Crossing is expected to be negligible. The complete transport assessment can be found at: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/wp-content/ipc/uploads/projects/TR010021/TR010021-000221-6.5%20Transport%20Assessment.pdf
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many vehicle accidents on the A282 were registered by Highways England in the last 12 months.
Answered by John Hayes
There were 487 Road Traffic Collisions (injury and non-injury) registered by Highways England on the A282 from 1 September 2015 to 31 August 2016.
This only includes incidents that the Highways England Traffic Officer Service had an awareness of or involvement in.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many complaints were made to his Department or Highways England on congestion at the Dartford Crossing in the last 12 months.
Answered by John Hayes
The number of complaints regarding congestion made to Highways England, who operates and manages the Dartford Crossing, in the last 12 months is 869.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the average speed was on vehicles travelling between junction 2 and junction 31 of the M25 on weekday evenings between 4pm and 7pm in August (a) 2008, (b) 2012 and (c) 2016.
Answered by John Hayes
The information is not held centrally for the breakdowns requested and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33141, whether he has made an assessment of the effect of the removal of the tollbooths at the Dartford Crossing on air quality in Dartford.
Answered by John Hayes
The Dartcharge Post Opening Project Evaluation (POPE) report, which will include an assessment of air quality, will be completed in Spring 2017.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the average speed of vehicles travelling between junctions 3 and 2 on the M25 on weekdays between 4pm to 7pm in August (a) 2008, (b) 2012 and (c) 2016.
Answered by John Hayes
The information is not held centrally for the breakdowns requested and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the average speed of vehicles travelling between junctions 4 and 3 on the M25 on weekdays between 4pm to 7pm in August (a) 2008, (b) 2012 and (c) 2016.
Answered by John Hayes
The information is not held centrally for the breakdowns requested and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the average speed of vehicles travelling between junctions 2 and 3 on the M25 on weekdays between 8am to 9am in August (a) 2008, (b) 2012 and (c) 2016.
Answered by John Hayes
The information is not held centrally for the breakdowns requested and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.