Dartford Crossing still blocked as Just Stop Oil activists remain on QEII bridge
The Dartford Crossing remains blocked this morning by Just Stop Oil protesters for the second day in a row.
The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex, was closed on Monday after it was scaled by two climbers from the group.
The environmental activist group has demanded that the Government "halts all new oil and gas licences and consents" and said the climbers will remain on top of the bridge until they are "brought down".
National Highways said it has no estimation of when the bridge will reopen and that there are about six miles of congestion on either side of the crossing.
A spokesperson for Essex Police said: "We're working with our partners to identify the safest and quickest way to resolve the situation. But as you can imagine, they're 100 metres up in the air. It's very complex.
"These things can take time."
Morgan Trowland, 39, a bridge design engineer from London, who is one of the protesters who scaled the bridge, said: “As a professional civil engineer, each year as I renew my registration, I commit to acting within our code of ethics, which requires me to safeguard human life and welfare and the environment.
"Our government has enacted suicidal laws to accelerate oil production: killing human life and destroying our environment. I can’t challenge this madness in my desk job, designing bridges, so I’m taking direct action, occupying the QE2 bridge until the government stops all new oil.”
Morgan published a video on Twitter on Tuesday morning after surviving the night in a hammock attached to the bridge railings.
In the video he said: "We just survived the first night up here. I was pretty cold, didn't sleep much but I'm OK.
"We're up here until the Government makes a meaningful statement to cancel all new licences and consents for oil and gas extraction. Oil and gas are killing us now and it's driving millions into poverty this winter.
"We have to have an emergency transition to renewable energy, quite a stable, affordable energy. We've got to pay for that transition using the profits of the oil and the gas industry and the rich.
"Now is the moment for civil resistance. Come and do what you can at this pivotal moment in history."
Overnight a video was posted on Twitter showing fireworks being set off over the bridge.
Video by @SirCarlingCraig
Drivers are still being warned to avoid the area on Tuesday, and to plan alternative routes of travel.
Essex Police say they are working hard to resolve the situation.
Chief Supt Anslow said: “I'd again like to re-iterate my thanks to the public for their patience and understanding. "I assure them that we continue to work with our partners to bring this dangerous and irresponsible disruption to an end & to keep people safe and keep Essex moving.
“Our colleagues at National Highways, who have responsibility for the bridge, have made an assessment that it is not currently safe to re-open the road.
“We will take action against anyone who puts life in danger or thinks they can selfishly stop others getting to and from work or just going about their daily lives. "The impact is far reaching, especially for the local community.
“I'd again like to re-iterate my thanks to the public for their patience and understanding. "I assure them that we continue to work with our partners to bring this dangerous and irresponsible disruption to an end and to keep people safe and keep Essex moving.”
The A282 Dartford Crossing is the only way to cross the Thames east of London by road.
The 1.7-mile QEII Bridge southbound and two 0.8-mile tunnels northbound link Essex and Kent.
The A282 also connects directly at both ends with the M25 London orbital motorway, one of the busiest in Europe.