DESPITE record journey numbers and increased toll charges the Dartford Crossing is making less money than it did eight years ago, the Chronicle can reveal.
Proceeds have fallen year-on-year from £54 million in 2003/4 to £36.7 million in 2010/11 because the private contractor's costs have more than doubled in the same period, from £12.7 million to £27.5 million.
The news comes after the toll charge for cars went up 50p to £2 on Sunday, prompting calls for more transparency over where the money is actually being spent.
Witham MP Priti Patel, who uncovered the figures, said motorists in Essex are being "ripped off" and that congestion at the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge and Dartford Tunnel, which is used by 50 million vehicles every year, actually costs the British economy £40 million-a-year.
"The Dartford Crossing is a vital economic link for Essex but the £40 million costs caused by delays and congestion are unacceptable," said Ms Patel.
"When the money raised by the tolls for the Government is less than £37 million, the current charging arrangements seem disproportionate to the wider economic costs.
"There are now serious questions that need to be answered about the way the previous Labour Government set up the current contract for managing the crossing.
"Instead of scrapping the tolls a decade ago the then Labour Government kept charging users of the crossing by claiming that the money raised would be spent on improving the road network.
"But these shocking figures show that over the last eight years users of the crossing have been paying more while the Government has been receiving considerably less for the road improvements it promised."
Indeed, revenues from motorists have risen from £68.1 million to £73 million in eight years but total expenditure at the crossing increased from £14 million in 2003/04 to £36.3 million last year.
Expenditure – which totalled one-fifth of revenue in 2003/04 – now totals half of all income received.
"Users of the Crossing are being ripped off and the Government must now fully review the charging scheme for the crossing to give users a better deal," said Conservative MP Ms Patel.
A Highways Agency spokesman said: "Every penny that motorists pay to Connect Plus to drive over the Dartford Crossing is handed over to the Department for Transport and by law must be spent on transport projects.
"These projects include the development and future implementation of free-flow to funding a new Lower Thames Crossing. The contract offers taxpayers value for money, and is delivering better journeys for drivers on the M25."
