The Dartford Crossing bridge will be closed from 11pm tonight due to high winds and is expected to reopen before the rush hour tomorrow morning.

Highways England says it expects the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge to reopen before the peak morning period tomorrow but this could change as wind speeds are forecast to be high until 2pm tomorrow due to Storm Eleanor.

The crossing will remain open with the tunnerl operating in both directions when the bridge is closed.

The east tunnel will close at 9pm tonight to allow time to build crossovers in preparation for the bridge closure.

According to Highways England, the bridge will be closed from 11pm, although this may move with the forecast updates, and traffic should have switched to using the tunnels by midnight.

Traffic travelling on the M25 anticlockwise to take the A282 from Kent into Essex via the Dartford Tunnels will be affected from 9pm when the east tunnel is closed to traffic, rendering the west tunnel only for anti-clockwise traffic.

Traffic travelling on the M25 clockwise to take the A282 from Essex into Kent will not be affected until the closure at 11pm, at which point they will be diverted through the east tunnel.

Tonight’s planned maintenance works have been cancelled to allow both tunnels to be used.

Highways England announced this afternoon that the Orwell Bridge will close from 9pm, and is expected to stay shut through tomorrow’s rush hour.