Lower Thames Crossing
| 350px | |
| Location | Kent/Essex |
|---|---|
| Proposer | Department for Transport |
| Status | Aspiration |
| Type | road |
The Lower Thames Crossing, or Third Thames Crossing, is a proposed new crossing of the Thames estuary linking the county of Kent with the county of Essex, at or east of the existing Dartford Crossing.
Description
In January 2009, the Department for Transport proposed three major options to increase capacity east of London over the Thames to be built downstream of the existing Dartford Crossing and an additional proposal to increase capacity at the Dartford Crossing.[1]
- Option A: Building an additional road crossing at the current Dartford Crossing and removing the old Dartford crossing tunnels from the strategic road network.
- Later government publications state that the old tunnels will remain in use.[2]
- Option B: A new road crossing in the Swanscombe Peninsula area, connecting the A2 near Dartford (south) to the A1089 road, north of Tilbury Docks.
- Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin announced in December 2013 that the Government had dropped this option, partly because of its potential disruption to a proposed large scale new theme park and associated development on the Swanscombe Peninsula.[3]
- Option C: A new road crossing connecting the M2 motorway and M20 motorways in the south with the M25, which might be linked via a proposed new Thames flood barrier. The route from the north would pass close to South Ockendon, Orsett, Chadwell St Mary, West Tilbury, East Tilbury, across West Tilbury Marshes before it crossed the Thames just to the east of Gravesend and Thurrock. It would join the M2 in the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and in the Special Landscape Area. This proposed link is also within the Kent Downs AONB and special landscape area. According to the DfT, this long route would have "considerable environmental impacts".
- Also: Increased capacity on the current Dartford Crossing at a lower cost. This option did not accommodate the predicted traffic growth in the longer term.
Advocates of the proposal argue that a new crossing is needed to alleviate congestion at the Dartford Crossing.
Currently, there is a ferry service operating between Gravesend and Tilbury,[4] which predominantly carries foot passengers and the occasional light motorcycle, subject to space limitations, only Monday to Friday.[5]
History
A study in a Lower Thames Crossing providing 'relief to east side of the M25 between Kent and Essex' was included in the 1989 white paper Roads for Prosperity.[6]
The Lower Thames Crossing was recommended for further investigation in the 2002 ORBIT Multi-Model Study, which examined orbital transport problems around London.[7][8]
In 2008, Metrotidal Ltd proposed the 'Medway-Canvey Island crossing', a £2bn to £4bn combined road and rail tunnel between Medway and Canvey Island that would include a surge-tide barrier and a tidal power plant, which was supported by Kent County Council, Essex County Council, the Thames Gateway South Essex Partnership and the Department for Transport.[9]
Following delays in any proposal being put forward by central government, Essex and Kent County Councils intend to create a joint proposal for the construction of a crossing.[10]
In January 2009, the Department for Transport published its own proposals.[1]
In October 2010, a study commissioned by Kent County Council proposed that the northern end of the crossing should bypass the M25 and continue on to connect to the M11 (and Stansted Airport) directly.[11] This would presumably be an adaptation of Option C.
In October 2012, plans were announced for a major theme park[12] to be built near Swanscombe. Commenting on road and motorway access to the park, Kent County Council highways chief Councillor Brian Sweetland said that he was looking at a significant variation to Option B: "The possibility of a new Thames Crossing at the Swanscombe peninsula must now be taken very seriously".[13]
See also
- Crossings of the River Thames
- Dartford Crossing
- M25 motorway
- Thames Gateway
- Thames Gateway Bridge
- Thames estuary
- Paramount Kent
References
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- ↑ Review of Lower Thames Crossing: final review report, Department for Transport, 21 May 2013, accessed 2014-10-29
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- Dartford River Crossing debate House of Commons Hansard (7 November 2006)
- Kent and Essex tackle traffic together Kent County Council (26 October 2006)
- Ministerial statement House of Commons Hansard (19 October 2006)
External links
- Lower Thames Crossing Gov.uk (11 June 2013)
- Multi-billion pound tunnel plan BBC News (12 February 2008)
- Third Thames crossing 'overdue' BBC News (26 October 2006)
- 'Gridlock ahead' without crossing BBC News (9 October 2006)
- Lower Thames Crossing information at alwaystouchout.com
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