Plans for six-lane £6.8BILLION toll-road tunnel under the Thames are unveiled in bid to slash motorway congestion
- Motorists using the 2.4-mile tunnel and new link roads will have to pay a toll
- The level of the toll has not yet been set although drivers pay £2.50 in Dartford
- Highways England said it will almost double capacity crossing the Thames
- The £6.8billion new tunnel and link roads are expected to be open by 2025
Plans for a new six-lane toll tunnel under the Thames that will almost double the amount of traffic that can cross the river east of London were unveiled this morning.
The new £6.8bn Lower Thames Crossing will be expanded from a four-lane to six-lane highway according to the latest proposals.
Highways England, which will today begin a 10-week public consultation over the plans, said they hoped the road could be operational by 2025.
The new £6.8bn crossing involves a 2.4-mile tunnel as part of the 14.5 mile project
A new £6.8 billion tunnel with almost double the amount of traffic able to cross the River Thames east of London, Highways England have claimed (artist’s impression of the tunnel)
An artist’s impression shows how the new road’s junction with the M25 in Essex will look. The Lower Thames Crossing will be tolled although the cost has not been revealed
The new tunnel is designed to reduce congestion on the existing crossings at Dartford
Motorists will pay a toll to use the new tunnel according to Highways England, who are managing the project.
The level of the toll has not yet been decided, although a Highways England source confirmed it was their aim that any charge would be ‘affordable’.
Drivers crossing the existing bridge and tunnels in nearby Dartford pay £2.50 for each crossing unless they have an account.
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The government-owned company will launch a 10-week public consultation on the latest designs on Wednesday.
The scheme’s budget has risen to a range of £5.3 billion to £6.8 billion due to more detailed design work and ground investigations. A previous estimate put the range at £4.4 billion to £6.2 billion.
Other changes in the latest designs include:
- A new rest and service area to the west of East Tilbury
- Removal of the proposed Tilbury link road to reduce traffic on the local road network
- Lowering the road by up to six metres in places to reduce its visual impact
The 14.5 mile route is expected to open in 2025 and will connect the M2 near Rochester in Kent and the M25 in Essex between North and South Ockenden.
It will include a 2.4 mile tunnel, which would be the UK’s longest road tunnel.
This will be the first new crossing of the river east of London since Dartford’s Queen Elizabeth II bridge opened in 1991.
Motorists currently pay £2.50 to use the existing Dartford Crossing, pictured
The only existing route for motorists is the Dartford Crossing, which consists of the bridge and two tunnels.
It is used for 50 million journeys annually and is often the scene of frustration for motorists stuck in traffic jams for several hours following accidents.
The new crossing is expected to reduce traffic at Dartford by 22 per cent.
Public transport groups claim ministers should instead focus on improving rail links.
There are also fears that traffic using the new crossing will blight communities with pollution on approach roads.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said the crossing will ‘transform journeys, create new business opportunities in Kent and Essex and unlock productivity across the UK’.
The scheme’s project director, Tim Jones, described it as ‘the biggest single road upgrade since the M25 was completed more than 30 years ago’.
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