Roads: Dartford Crossing

Lord Hanningfield
asked Her Majesty's Government:

What estimates they have made of the amount that the Dartford Crossing annually costs the economies of (a) Essex; (b) Kent; (c) London; and (d) the south-east of England. [HL1687]

Lord Bassam of Brighton
No estimates are available in the form requested.

Lord Hanningfield
asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the Department for Transport has undertaken or commissioned any work regarding the possibility of abolishing tolls on the Dartford Crossing; and, if so, what were the findings of this work. [HL1688]

Lord Bassam of Brighton
Chapter 3 of the consultation document Proposed Changes to Charges at the Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing (December 2006) refers to research published in August 2001 by Brown and Root which suggested that use of the crossing would grow more rapidly than the increases forecast at the time if there were no charge at the crossing.

Lord Hanningfield
asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many accidents have occurred on the approach to the bridge and tunnel sections of the Dartford Crossing since their respective openings. [HL1690]

Lord Bassam of Brighton
The information is not held in the form requested.