The anti-clockwise carriageway of the M25 is open again today following overnight repair works following a crash near the Dartford tunnel.

The stretch of motorway was closed from 11pm yesterday to allow the urgent work to fix a broken barrier to be carried out.

It reopened at around 6am today.

Drivers were warned to avoid the Dartford crossing after the crash near the tunnels caused traffic chaos.

The crash happened at around 6am on Thursday at junction 31 of the M25, on the Essex side, forcing highways workers to close both tunnels for around 15 minutes.

But there were intermittent closures all day to prevent queueing in the tunnel.

As a result, tailbacks stretched back for miles on the M25 and A2.

One lane on the M25 anticlockwise carriageway at junction 31 was closed until 10pm. The whole carriageway was then shut to allow the work to be carried out overnight.

Three narrow lanes are now open past the scene.

Highways England said the closures were necessary due to safety concerns following an earlier crash, which caused barrier damage above the live lane of the roundabout that runs underneath the junction.

At one point, the queues were nine miles long, which had a knock-on effect in Gravesend, Higham and Strood.

Highways England has warned drivers planning to use the M25 at the crossing and the roads leading to it to look for alternative routes.

A spokesman said: "The vehicles in this morning's incident were recovered quickly and there are now two lanes open past the scene.

"Highways England staff are working hard to repair the damage and get traffic back to normal on the Dartford Crossing.

"For safety reasons, to prevent stationary traffic in the tunnel itself, we are holding traffic at the tunnel entrances and releasing it in batches.

"We are advising drivers to check the latest conditions before setting out and to allow extra time for their journeys if they are affected by this incident.

The accident comes days after drivers were stuck for hours when power failed at the tunnels.

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