Long delays on M25 due to emergency Dartford Tunnel repairs

There are severe delays on the M25 due to emergency Dartford Tunnel repairs.

Two lanes are currently closed northbound between Junction 1A of the A206, for Dartford, and Junction 31 of the A1306, for Lakeside.

The Junction 1A entry slip and the left-hand tunnel are shut, with the right-hand tunnel remaining open.

National Highways said: “A lorry that was over the permissible height entered the left tunnel and in doing so has struck several pieces of equipment resulting in damage.

“The equipment is essential to the safe operation of the tunnel and therefore traffic cannot flow through it until repairs are carried out.

“National Highways has contractors on site to affect repairs but this is likely to take several hours.”

It is advising drivers intending on using the tunnels for the rest of the day to expect “very long delays and heavy congestion” whilst the left bore remains closed.

There are currently delays of one-and-a-half hours against expected traffic, with congestion to the Swanley Interchange.

Drivers are also facing delays due to an earlier broken down vehicle on the Dartford Crossing clockwise, between Lakeside and Dartford.

In a seperate incident, a collision took place on the motorway anti-clockwise this morning, between the Swanley Interchange and Darenth Interchange.

It was located within the congestion that had been caused as a result of the tunnel closure.

This led to two lanes being shut, however the incident has now cleared.

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