One of the UK's most popular crossings used by over 150,000 people every day will close within hours, according to National Highways. The Dartford Crossing will face major disruption this weekend due to an ongoing maintenance programme. 

National Highways has confirmed the Queen Elizabeth II bridge will shut to motorists from 1pm on Saturday 16 April until 5am on Sunday 27 April. It means the bridge will be closed for around seven hours over Saturday night while crews embark on engineering work. 

National Highways has confirmed that a counterflow diversion for southbound traffic will run through the Dartford East tunnel from 9:30pm on Saturday 26 April. 

A National Highways spokesperson said: “We carry out routine maintenance closures such as the one this Saturday night on the QEII Bridge on a six-weekly basis.” 

However, it isn't the only closure planned with the Dartford East tunnel also restricting access for certain vehicles in the coming days. 

National Highways has confirmed there will be no access to the Dartford East tunnel for models over 4.8 metres from Sunday 27 April between 10am and 5am. 

Meanwhile, the same restriction will apply between Monday 28 April and Wednesday 30 April between 10pm and 5am. 

Officials confirmed the tunnel closures were so engineers can fit a new ventilation system. 

Dartford West tunnel is unaffected this weekend but will face some closures from next Friday evening. 

National Highways confirmed the engineering works to improve journeys for motorists and promised to keep “disruption to a minimum”.

They confirmed the work includes replacing tunnel bearings and expansion joints, upgrading CCTV and lighting as well as enhancing the bridge’s pylons, cable stays and dampers. 

Any pieces of corroded steelwork will be removed while ventilation, electrical and drainage systems will be maintained.

National Highways added: “Carrying over 50 million vehicles a year, the Dartford Crossing is designed to handle 135,000 vehicles a day, but the average is now 150,000 a day – with the busiest days seeing up to 180,000 vehicles using it. 

“We’re carrying out an extensive programme of repairs and maintenance work over the next several years to keep journeys safe and reliable for road users. 

“To keep disruption to a minimum, we carry out our work overnight, typically between the hours of 10pm and 6am.”