The Dartford Tunnel celebrated its 60th birthday with a parade of vintage cars making a symbolic journey through the west tunnel today.

Classic vehicles including a 1934 MG PA and a 1930s Buick, travelled through the 1,430 metre passage under the River Thames from Greenhithe to Essex.

The vintage cars symbolised the transition from the past to the present in the last six decades while bringing up the rear, the future was represented by a hydrogen-powered HGV from Tevva.

The crossing, which turns 60 tomorrow (Saturday), is now used by 50 million vehicles over a 12-month period.

Probably best known for traffic jams, when the first tunnel was built 60 years ago historian Alex Vaughan said it was seen as a trailblazer in the social and economic development of the region and the catalyst for bringing Kent and Essex together.

Dartford resident Alex who has seen three generations of his family work on the Crossing, said: “It was universally welcomed by the residents of Kent and Essex when it was first built as the only other crossing was the Blackwall Tunnel 12 miles away.

“It brought a lot of employment, especially for my family, and the influx of workers brought a lot of business. Hotels, B&Bs and pubs sprung up all over the place.”

Leader of Dartford council Cllr Jeremy Kite, who was born the same year as the tunnel was built, said it is not just important for the area these days – it is now part of the backbone of the country’s economy.

And he said as its role has changed and demand has increased, its success has proved the need for another one.

“The lesson for history is that every generation has a different requirement. There was a crossing here in the 1960s, another in the 1980s, a bridge in the 1990s and the truth is we need a new crossing now,” he said.

“The economy was very different then. The tunnel at the time dealt with a particular problem which was people moving about for work and leisure.

“The problem is that since then the South East has become a major economic driver so the crossing has a different role now, which is really supporting the whole country’s economy.

He added: “These crossings have served us well but the people of Dartford have mixed feelings about the crossing and its congestion issues demonstrate the need for the new Lower Thames Crossing to be built.”

National Highways described the crossing as being at “the heart of UK transport infrastructure” and “one of the most important strategic roads in the UK by connecting people through significant amounts of UK’s ports, such as Dover, facilitating travel journeys to France”.

The idea for the crossing was first proposed by the Ministry of Transport in 1924 but it was not actually completed until 1963 costing a total of £13 million. It initially served around 12,000 vehicles per day.

The second tunnel opened to traffic in May 1980 increasing capacity to 65,000 journeys a day.

In October 1991 the new bridge was opened by Queen Elizabeth II which increased the volume of traffic to 135,000 vehicles per day.

In 2016 proposals were put forward for the creation of a new Lower Thames Crossing to ease congestion at the Dartford Crossing.

Last month the Department for Transport said it was delaying this project by two years “to allow more time to take into account stakeholder views and prepare an effective and deliverable plan”.