The Dartford Cable Tunnel is a 2.4 km
utility tunnel
A utility tunnel, utility corridor, or utilidor is a passage built underground or above ground to carry utility lines such as electricity, steam, water supply pipes, and sewer pipes. Communications utilities like fiber optics, cable television, ...
beneath the
Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...
, upstream of the
Dartford Crossing
The Dartford–Thurrock River Crossing, commonly known as the Dartford Crossing and until 1991 the Dartford Tunnel, is a major road crossing of the River Thames in England, carrying the A282 road between Dartford in Kent in the south and Thurr ...
. With a
diameter
In geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the centre of the circle and whose endpoints lie on the circle. It can also be defined as the longest Chord (geometry), chord of the circle. Both definitions a ...
of ~, it carries a 400
kV National Grid electrical transmission cable. It is accessible by foot as a crossing of the Thames, but by authorised personnel only.
It was built in 2003–04 at a cost of £11 million (equivalent to £ million in ).
See also
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400 kV Thames Crossing
The 400 kV Thames Crossing is an overhead power line crossing of the River Thames, between Botany Marshes in Swanscombe, Kent, and West Thurrock, Essex, England. Its towers are the tallest electricity pylons in the UK.
The present crossing was ...
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Thames Cable Tunnel
The Thames Cable Tunnel, also known as the Tilbury – Gravesend Cable Tunnel, is a tunnel carrying high-voltage electrical transmission lines beneath the lower River Thames between Tilbury and Gravesend. It remains the furthest tunnel downstr ...
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Utility vault
A utility vault is an underground room providing access to subterranean public utility equipment, such as valves for water or natural gas pipes, or switchgear for electrical or telecommunications equipment. A vault is often accessible directly fr ...
*
Crossings of the River Thames
The River Thames is the second-longest river in the United Kingdom, passes through the capital city, and has many crossings.
Counting every channel – such as by its islands linked to only one bank – it is crossed by over 300 brid ...
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Tunnels underneath the River Thames
The table below lists many of the tunnels under the River Thames in and near London, which, thanks largely to its underlying bed of clay, is one of the most tunnelled cities in the world. The tunnels are used for road vehicles, pedestrians, Und ...
References
Infrastructure in London
Dartford
Tunnels underneath the River Thames
Tunnels completed in 2004
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