The UK government has approved plans for the construction of the Lower Thames Tunnel to begin in 2026.
To be completed in the early 2030s, the 14.5-mile (23.3km) road, with a 2.6 mile (4.2km) tunnel under the Thames, is planned to connect to junctions on the A2 in Kent and the A13 / M25 in Essex.
National Highways hopes that once completed the Lower Thames Crossing will help to ease congestion on the existing Dartford crossing. By taking 13 million vehicles away from the existing crossing each year, helping to create a 90% increase in extra road capacity in river crossings between Essex and Kent by road.
National Highways also believes the project will help to reduce the journey time made by goods vehicles using the existing Dartford crossing, who currently make up 40% of the 50 million journeys made on the Dartford crossing each year to travel between some of the UK’s major ports such as Dover and Tilbury.
From both sides of the crossing local communities have become increasingly concerned with the environmental impact of the project. Emma Waller, Planning and Policy Officer from the Kent Wildlife Trust, has raised concerns that the crossing’s construction “will destroy up to 8 hectares of irreplaceable ancient woodland, including parts of Shorne and Ashenbank Wood”.
Waller has further criticised National Highways’ longer term operational emissions during the crossing’s construction. Whilst National Highways have committed to using Hydrogen Fuel technology during the crossing’s construction, Waller raises that “once completed the lower Thames Crossing will have the largest carbon footprint of any major UK road scheme, generating approximately 6.5 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions”.
Whilst concerns have already been raised about the crossing’s environmental impact on local communities, further questions have been raised as to who will fund the project. The UK government is exploring options for the project to be largely financed by the private sector. However, with the scheme already costing £1.2bn of UK taxpayer money in planning since 2009, concerns have been raised that the crossing’s construction costs could go beyond the initial £9bn earmarked for the entire project.
Not only are the crossing’s increasing construction costs a point of concern for the UK government, but it also poses a political dilemma for the recently elected Labour part. On the one hand the approval of the crossing’s construction supports a key element of the party’s manifesto commitment to “cut the red tape” on planning permission for new infrastructure projects across the UK. However, on the other hand questions will be raised amongst the public as to why the Labour party is willing to invest in a new infrastructure project, that will further benefit London and the Southeast, but at the same time is prepared to announce a series of cuts to welfare benefits in its Spring statement delivered in March 2025.
