Police incident closes M25 Dartford crossing with major delays

Summarised from 3 outlets · 8 reports · Updated 1 Nov, 12:46 · Archive

A police incident on the QEII bridge forced the M25 clockwise to close near junction 31, causing 30-minute delays.

A police incident on the QEII Dartford Bridge forced the M25 clockwise to close on 1 November. The closure affected the road between junction 30 at the A13 and junction 1a at Dartford, near Canterbury Way in the Lakeside and Purfleet areas. National Highways confirmed that traffic was being held southbound on the A282, with delays of 30 minutes and around two miles of congestion approaching the bridge.

Once the initial closure was lifted, traffic was diverted via the East Tunnel. Vehicles exceeding the height restriction of 4.8 metres were directed to follow an alternative route via the M25 clockwise. Congestion extended back almost to junction 29 near Romford.

A motorist at the scene reported seeing "several ambulance, police cars, fire engines and specialist response" vehicles. Some emergency services remained at the bottom of the bridge while others went up onto the structure. Drivers were caught in 30-car queues for two hours during the incident.

National Highways advised motorists to allow extra travel time for journeys in the area. Essex Police were contacted for details on the incident, though no further information about its nature was provided by the outlets.

The road eventually reopened following the police incident, and normal traffic flow resumed.

How it is being reported

• Major M25 police incident sees traffic diverted as lanes are closedTraffic is being diverted on the M25 due to a police incident near junction 31.This Is Local London · 1 Nov, 12:14
• Lane closed on M25 with traffic queueing near busy junctionA lane is closed on the M25 anticlockwise exit slip road at Junction 11, causing queues. The closure affects lane one of two near A320 St Peters Way in Chertsey.This Is Local London · 1 Nov, 12:01
• M25 traffic live as major police incident closes Dartford crossing with full diversion routeEssex Police have been contacted for details on the ongoing incident on the QEII Dartford BridgeMyLondon · 1 Nov, 11:56
• Serious delays announced on MAJOR M25 bridge as police incident stops all trafficA police incident brought traffic to a standstill on the M25.This Is Local London · 1 Nov, 11:06
• Major POLICE incident on M25 has stopped all lanes with queueing trafficTraffic is being temporarily held on the M25 due to a police incident near junction 31.This Is Local London · 1 Nov, 10:49
• Major POLICE incident on M25 has stopped all lanes with queueing trafficTraffic is being temporarily held on the M25 due to a police incident near junction 31.News Shopper · 1 Nov, 10:49
• Motorway crash is causing MAJOR delays to key airport after lane closuresDrivers faced major delays reaching Gatwick Airport following an earlier incident on the M23.This Is Local London · 31 Oct, 18:06
• M25 crash is causing lane closures and major delaysA crash has caused delays on the M25.This Is Local London · 31 Oct, 17:41

In this story: M25 · QEII Dartford Bridge · National Highways · Essex Police · Junction 30 · Junction 31

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log