Dartford Crossing Toll Fee To Rise Sharply For Van Drivers
18/06/2025 14:04 Share
Dartford Crossing Toll Fee To Rise Sharply For Van Drivers
The cost of using the Dartford Crossing will rise to £4.20 for van drivers from September 2025 following the confirmation of new fees for the toll road.
As it stands, vans (with two axles) pay £3.00 each way to use the Dartford Crossing, otherwise known as Queen Elizabeth II Bridge and Tunnels.
However, from September vans – which are classified in line with buses, coaches and other goods vehicles with two axels - will pay £4.20 under the changes.
The toll rise – which amounts to a significant 40 per cent increase – is being applied across the board, with car drivers seeing fees rising from £2.50 to £3.50.
The Dartford Crossing links the M25 between Essex and Kent across the Thames Estuary and serves up to 180,000 vehicles every day.
This amounts to 50 million vehicles being subject to tolls each year, which together with revenue received from fines for non-payment, sees the Dartford Crossing to generate around £210 million each year.
A 40 per cent increase in each toll would see this rise to around £300 million a year.
Despite the steep increase, the Transport Minister Lilian Greenwood, in a statement to Parliament, insists the current charge is ‘no longer sufficient’ to manage demand.
“I am aware that these necessary changes to the charges will be unwelcome news for users of the crossing," she said.
"These traffic levels are well in excess of the crossing's design capacity, causing delays for drivers."
It is the first time the toll fee on the Dartford Crossing has risen since 2014.
When Was The Dartford Crossing Built?
The Dartford Crossing began life as a single tunnel connecting Essex and Kent under the River Thames.
Known as the West Tunnel, construction began in 1936 but was halted due to World War II. Building work was eventually restarted decades later before it was opened in 1963.
An East Tunnel was eventually added in 1980 before the crossing was linked to the M25 motorway (London Orbital) in 1986.
A few years later in 1991, the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge was built close to where the tunnels run under the River Thames. This provided an additional four lanes of traffic to make the crossing in a westerly direction towards Kent, while the tunnels served transport heading east into Essex.
Infamously, it was stated at the time of the bridge’s opening that the toll for using it would be scrapped once the cost of construction had been covered. However, this was reneged in 2000.
Lower Thames Crossing Given Green Light
The rise in the Dartford Crossing toll comes in the wake of a new tunnel that would run under the River Thames was given the go ahead.
The 14.3-mile Lower Thames Crossing would link Tilbury in Essex and Gravesend in Kent and would become the longest tunnel on the UK isles with 2.6 miles of the route being underground.
The Lower Thames Crossing would be situated around 10 miles east of the Dartford Crossing.
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