Lower Thames Crossing estimated to bring "£40 billion to UK economy"
Transport Secretary is set to rule on a Development Consent Order (DCO) for the 14.3-mile route today (4 October 2024)
A decision is due to be made today (4 October 2024) as to whether the Lower Thames Crossing - a proposed new road tunnel connecting Gravesend in Kent to Thurrock in Essex - will go ahead.
Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh, is expected to rule on a Development Consent Order (DCO), for the 14.3-mile route.
If granted, construction of the £9bn LTC would begin in 2026.
The Essex Chamber of Commerce has said the construction 'could not come soon enough'.
Policy advisor, Iain McNab, told us if it's approved, "it could take up to 10 years to be constructed."
Mr McNab continued, saying it would add an "estimated £40 billion pounds to the UK economy."
The LTC is the largest scheme left behind from the Conservatives’ roads programme. First proposed in the late 2000s, the road would link Gravesend and Essex with a tunnel beneath the Thames.
Mr McNab has said the LTC will "relieve pressure on the congested Dartford Crossing," which remains the only fixed road crossing of the Thames east of Greater London. It would also connect the M25 motorway and A13 north of the River Thames to the M2 motorway south of the river.
"Congestion at Dartford costs the UK about £2mil a year. It's through traffic coming from Dover and the Southern ports to the rest of the country. A new crossing would relieve that and open up the economy."
He added, "It's not something just for Essex, it's for the whole country.
"In Essex, it would create lots of job opportunities in construction, but also space for new enterprises close to the crossing. But up and down the country those effects will be felt."
He added, "it's probably going to take some private funding and investment, if approved."
"We hope the secretary of transport realises this is a key piece of infrastructure that needs to go ahead."
"outdated and wasteful"
An independent report from the Transport Action Network (TAN), sent to Ms Haigh, condemned the plans for the crossing as "outdated and wasteful".
It stated that the existing Dartford Crossing would be back at its present level of congestion just five years after the LTC opened.
It also claimed the new crossing would be more expensive per kilometre than HS2.
The Woodland Trust claims that the carbon emissions of the road scheme are expected to be amongst the highest of any major road scheme currently developed by National Highways.
Construction of the LTC would commence in 2026 should the Development Consent Order be granted.