News / UK transport cheers as Lower Thames Crossing gets green light

Photo: Deportment for Transport

One of the UK’s largest infrastructure projects has been greenlit after the country’s Department for Transport today gave the go-ahead to build the Lower Thames crossing

Budgeted to cost £9bn, the crossing will see two 23km road tunnels built under the river, with three lanes of motorway between Kent and Essex which will connect to the existing road network from the A2/M2 to the M25.

Supporters of the project said it was urgently needed to relieve pressure on the Dartford Crossing, which is currently the main artery for trucks heading to and from Dover ferry port. The Dartford Crossing’s original capacity was 135,000 trips a day, which it is said to have been reached some years ago.

“Businesses up and down the country are hamstrung by delays crossing the Thames, so the government’s decision to approve the Lower Thames Crossing development consent order today is excellent news,” said Logistics UK chairman David Wells.

“The scheme has been in the planning stages for over a decade and this is a momentous decision: industry is united in its backing for this vital trade route, which when completed will unlock UK logistics, drive growth, and help keep supply chains moving across the whole country,” he added.

The UK’s Road Haulage Association (RHA) also welcomed the approval. MD Richard Smith said: “The project will provide much-needed reliability for businesses. Delays at Dartford have decreased productivity and increased costs for businesses. The LTC will improve journey times and boost economic growth in the region.

“This is more than a local project however – this is a nationally significant scheme,” he added.

The approval is also likely to be a huge boost for the development of Thames Freeport and the ports of Tilbury and London Gateway, the northern access to the Lower Thames Crossing will be sited beside Tilbury’s terminals.

Speaking to The Loadstar this time last year, Port of Tilbury commercial manager Peter Ward said the new crossing would “put us right in the middle of a north-south-east-west road crossover, and the current road access can be very congested at times”.

A five-strong planning inspectorate team was due to deliver its final report on the crossing to the government last June, but the decision was delayed due to the change of government in last year’s general election.

It delivered an updated report on 20 March.