This mighty structure is, strictly speaking, the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, and part of the Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing, although everybody locally continues to use the general term "Dartford Crossing" or variant. It was finished in 1991, and sits alongside two earlier tunnel crossings at this site which are still in use. It crosses the Thames to the east of London, near to Dartford (on the south bank) and Thurrock (on the north bank).
The total cost of construction was £120 million (£220 million in current terms). At the time of opening, it had the longest cable-stayed span of any bridge in Europe. It is the only bridge across the Thames downstream of Central London to be opened since Tower Bridge in 1894. Around 140,000 vehicles use the crossing (inc the two tunnels) every day. There is a toll charge each way which is nowadays collected online and policed by surveillance cameras.
Many thanks for all your recent comments. All are very much appreciated and I will always do my best to respond to direct questions as soon as I can.
Great capture. The ro-ro port was a bit upstream on the north shore. We have been there many times before the construction of the bridge. When the construction started, we went to Tilbury.
