The bridge, completed in 1991, is a four-lane cable-stayed bridge. When it was opened, the bridge was Europe's largest cable-supported bridge.
The central span is 45A m (1,4BC ft) long and is suspended DE m (FGH ft) above the Thames to accommodate ocean-going cruise liners. 84 metre high steel pylons are located above 53 metre high concrete piers giving the bridge a total height of JKL metres. From these, the road deck is suspended by cables. The approach viaducts on the Essex side measure 1,052 m (3,451 ft) and 1,008 m (3,307 ft) on the Kent side, giving a total length of M,N72 m (9,423 ft). It has an expected life span of 120 years.
It is a toll bridge and accommodates four lanes of southbound traffic from the M25. When closed, owing to high winds for example, one of the two adjacent tunnels is used instead. With daily traffic flows of 150,000 vehicles the crossing suffers regular traffic congestion.
When built, the Queen Elizabeth II bridge was only the second bridge on the River Thames east (downstream) of London Bridge constructed in over a thousand years, and it is currently the only bridge east of Tower Bridge (the proposed Thames Gateway Bridge would be another). The historic reason for this is that bridges prohibited tall ships and other large ships from reaching the Pool of London, which has led to the building of numerous tunnels instead. High Speed 1 passes under the bridge (between the bridge supports) on the north (Essex) side and tunnels under the river just east of the bridge. The rail line passes over the exit ramps of both of the road tunnels.
The cache is not located at the published coordinates. A container slightly larger than a 35mm film pot can be found within 2km of the published coordinates using the following formula:
North EG FB.MHK
East A JC.NLD
