Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Act 1988
Dartford-Thurrock CrossingAct 1988
1988 CHAPTER 20
An Act to provide for the construction of a bridge over the river Thames between Dartford in Kent and Thurrock in Essex and of associated works; to provide for the Secretary of State to be the highway authority for the highways passing through the tunnels under that river between Dartford and Thurrock and their approaches instead of Kent and Essex County Councils; to provide for the levying of tolls, by a person appointed by the Secretary of State or by the Secretary of State, in respect of traffic using the crossing; to provide for transfers of property and liabilities of those Councils to the person appointed and the Secretary of State and for the transfer to the Secretary of State of property and liabilities of the person appointed on termination of his appointment; to provide for the management of the crossing, including the imposition of prohibitions, restrictions and requirements in relation to traffic, and otherwise in relation to the crossing; and for connected purposes.
[28th June 1988]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Part I
Construction of New Bridge over River Thames
1 Construction of the scheduled works.
(1) The Secretary of State may, subject to and in accordance with the provisions of this Act, construct the works specified in Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act (below in this Act referred to as the scheduled works), being works for the construction of a new bridge over the river Thames between the borough of Dartford, in the county of Kent, and the borough of Thurrock, in the county of Essex, and certain associated works.
(2) References below in this Act to the bridge are references to the bridge mentioned in subsection (1) above (Work No.3).
(3) Subject to Part II of that Schedule (which gives the limits of deviation for the scheduled works, permits deviation from the levels shown on the deposited sections and specifies requirements as to the construction of the bridge) the scheduled works shall be constructed in the lines or situations shown on the deposited plans and in accordance with the levels shown on the deposited sections.
2 Acquisition of land for the scheduled works and other authorised works.
(1) The Secretary of State is authorised by this section to acquire compulsorily—
(a) so much of the land shown on the deposited plans within the limits of deviation for the scheduled works as may be required for or in connection with those works; and
(b) so much of any land specified in columns 1 and 2 of Part I of Schedule 2 to this Act shown on the deposited plans within the limits of land to be acquired as may be required for the purpose specified in relation to the land in column 3 as one for which this Act authorises it to be acquired or used.
(2) Part I of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 (except sections 4 and 27 and paragraph 3(3) of Schedule 3), in so far as it is applicable for the purposes of this Act and is not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, shall apply to the acquisition of land under this section as it applies to a compulsory purchase to which Schedule 1 to the Acquisition of Land Act 1981 applies and as if this Act were a compulsory purchase order under that Act.
(3) A notice to treat under Part I of the Compulsory Purchase Act 1965 for the purpose of acquiring any land under this section shall not be served after 31st December 1992.
(4) The Lands Clauses Consolidation Act 1845 shall not apply to the acquisition of land under this section.
(5) Part II of Schedule 2 to this Act shall have effect for making supplementary provision relating to the acquisition of land for or in connection with the works authorised by this Act.
3 Supplementary provision as to authorised works.
3. Schedule 3 to this Act shall have effect for making provision for the purpose of or in connection with the construction of the works authorised by this Act and for making in connection with those works provision with respect to highways and road traffic regulation.
Part II
Transfer of Tunnels and Tunnel Approaches
Status of tunnel highway and tunnel approaches, etc.
4 Trunking of tunnel highway and tunnel approaches.
(1) On such date as the Secretary of State may by order appoint the tunnel highway and such parts of the tunnel approaches as immediately before that date are not trunk roads shall become trunk roads as if they had become so by virtue of an order under section 10(2) of the Highways Act 1980 specifying that date as the date on which they were to become trunk roads.
(2) The date appointed under subsection (1) above is referred to below in this Act as the transfer date.
(3) In this Act—
‘the tunnel highway’ means the highway over such parts of the A282 as pass through the tunnels or lie within land shown on the deposited plans as forming part of the tunnel crossing, and includes the tunnels themselves;
‘the tunnel approaches’ means the highways over the approach roads;
‘the tunnels’ means the tunnel authorised by the enactments repealed by the Dartford Tunnel Act 1967 and the tunnel authorised by that Act;
‘the approach roads’ means such parts of the A282 (other than those passing through the tunnels) as lie outside land shown on the deposited plans as forming part of the tunnel crossing, together with any slip roads joining them; and
‘the tunnel crossing’ means—
(a) the tunnel highway; and
(b) any land not forming part of that highway which is shown on the deposited plans as forming part of the tunnel crossing.
(4) The Dartford Tunnel Act 1984 shall cease to have effect on the transfer date.
(5) The Highways Act 1980 and the Dartford Tunnel Act 1984 are below in this Act referred to respectively as the 1980 Act and the 1984 Act.
5 Status of roads, etc., other than the runnel highway.
(1) As from the transfer date any road within the tunnel crossing which was a highway immediately before that date, other than the tunnel highway, shall cease to be a highway.
(2) As from that date, the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 shall have effect in relation to any road within the tunnel crossing which is not a highway as if it were a trunk road.
(3) The Secretary of State may by order make provision for applying any specified enactment relating to highways in relation to any specified part of any road or other land within the tunnel crossing which is not a highway as if that part were a highway, or a highway of any specified description, for which he is the highway authority.
(4) Any such order may provide for modifying any enactment as it applies by virtue of the order.
(5) In this section ‘specified’ means specified by the order.
Transfers consequential on section 4
6 Transfer of tunnel crossing and tunnel approaches to Secretary of State.
(1) Section 265 of the 1980 Act (transfer of property and liabilities to Secretary of State upon a highway becoming a trunk road) shall not apply by virtue of section 4 of this Act; but, subject to the following provisions of this section and to section 7 of this Act, on the transfer date there are transferred to the Secretary of State by virtue of this section—
(a) the tunnel crossing;
(b) such parts of the tunnel approaches as immediately before that date are not trunk roads;
(c) the property mentioned in subsection (2) below, in so far as, immediately before that date, it was vested in either of the Councils (or in them jointly) for the purposes of any of their functions in relation to the tunnel crossing or the tunnel approaches; and
(d) all liabilities incurred by either of the Councils (or by them jointly) for the purposes of any of those functions and not discharged before that date, other than loans and loan charges;
and the property so transferred vests, by virtue of this section, in the Secretary of State.
(2) The property referred to in subsection (1)(c) above is—
(a) any easement or right in or over land; and
(b) all other property (including the unexpended balances of any grants paid by the Secretary of State to the Councils or either of them for the purposes of any of their functions in relation to the tunnel crossing or the tunnel approaches), other than—
(i) materials to be used for the maintenance or improvement of the tunnel highway or the tunnel approaches or of any works on land within the tunnel crossing;
(ii) the unexpended balances of any loans raised by either of the Councils (or by them jointly) for the purposes of any of those functions; and
(iii) tolls collected in pursuance of the 1984 Act.
(3) Subject to subsection (4) below, there is not transferred to the Secretary of State by virtue of this section—
(a) any right or liability in respect of—
(i) work done, services rendered, goods delivered, or money due for payment, before the transfer date; or
(ii) damages or compensation for any act or omission before that date; or
(b) any right or liability under any contract of insurance.
(4) Any such right or liability as is mentioned in subsection (3)(a) above is so transferred if—
(a) it was not acquired or incurred solely for the purposes of any of the functions of the Councils in relation to the tunnel...
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