Traffic misery at the Dartford Crossing could be eased in the new year with the help of technology, but there’s no silver bullet to end the horrendous queues there.

That’s the view of Dartford MP (Con) Gareth Johnson after visiting the crossing’s control centre as part of his campaign to cut its bumper-to-bumper queues, along with demands to build a new Thames crossing east of Gravesham.

Speaking after his meeting with officials from Highways England, responsible for maintaining motorways and major A-roads, Mr Johnson said: “Up to 170,000 vehicles a day are trying to use the tunnels that were designed for 140,000 and now we’re living with the consequences of one of the worst stretches of motorway.

“Highways England is accepting it needs to do more to tackle the congestion and they are working on ways of improving traffic flow."

One idea includes using the latest technology to synchronise the traffic lights at the roundabouts of Junction 1a, and the Blue Star roundabout. This could come into effect in the new year.

“The slip road used by traffic from Bob Dunn Way on to the crossing approach causes huge traffic problems for people locally and needs to be improved."

He added that Highways England were in talks with oil refineries in Essex to try to reduce tanker movements at peak times.

It was recently revealed the logistics industry reckons that delays to its operators is costing them £1 for every minute an HGV sits in the bottleneck.

Mr Johnson added: “I am determined to keep pushing them [Highways England] to deal with the congestion. Drivers are also facing frustration over the current roadworks in Essex, just north of the tunnels.

“Unfortunately, this is going to have a significant impact on traffic flow until the work is completed in 2016. The reality is there’s no silver bullet to solve the problem.

“We need a new Thames crossing, east of Gravesham. Present improvements will only be around the margins.”