Queen Elizabeth II Bridge
In 1991 the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge was Europe’s largest
cable-stayed bridge, carrying southbound traffic across the River
Thames from Thurrock in Essex to Dartford in Kent.
By utilising the existing twin tunnels exclusively for northbound
traffic, the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge doubled the capacity of the
Dartford-Thurrock Crossing. With a minimum air draught of 57.5m
above high water, the four-lane bridge comprises a 450 main span,
triple side spans of 181m plus viaducts exceeding 1km – reaching an
overall length of 2.8km. The cable-stayed deck is formed from
stiffened steel plate acting compositely with a structural concrete
overlay, supported longitudinally by steel plate girders. The
concrete river pier foundations have been designed to absorb impact
from a 65,000 dead weight tonnage vessel travelling at 10
knots.
The bridge was the first highway scheme in the UK to follow the
DFBOT (design, finance, build, operate and transfer) principle.
Initiated by the Secretary of State for Transport, the project
involved selecting a concessionaire by way of a competition between
pre-qualified entrants. Mott MacDonald was appointed as the
Secretary of State’s Agent.
In this capacity, we assisted the government in obtaining
parliamentary approvals, documenting and assessing the competitive
bid process, appointing concessionaires and monitoring design and
construction quality and costs. During construction we also dealt
with specialist aerodynamic, hydraulic and geotechnical studies and
off-site inspection.
Our role continues with the ongoing operation, maintenance and
overall management of the crossing.
