UK government delays Lower Thames Crossing decision until May 2025
08 October 2024
The UK’s new Labour government has delayed a decision on whether to build a controversial 2.6-mile tunnel under the River Thames east of London.
An artists’s impression of the Lower Thames Crossing. Image: Highways Agency
In a written statement to the House of Commons this week, transport secretary, Louise Haigh, said that she had extended the decision on whether or not to build the proposed project, designed to ease congestion at London’s infamous Dartford Crossing, until 23 May 2025.
The proposed Lower Thames Crossing would link Gravesend in Kent and Tilbury in Essex, connecting the A2 and M2 with the A13.
The UK’s National Highways Agency, which oversees the country’s road network, says that the link would almost double road capacity over the river east of London to reduce congestion by taking over 13 million vehicles away every year from Dartford and free up almost a full lane of traffic.
This summer, chancellor Rachel Reeves scrapped a number of proposed infrastructure projects, including the controversial A303 Stonehenge Tunnel, as part of an effort to fill a £22 billion (US$28.8 billion) hole in the country’s public finances. However, the Lower Thames Crossing was not included on the list.
However, campaigners say the project, which is expected to cost around £9 billion (US$11.7 billion), would damage Green Belt land.
Haigh said the extension would “allow more time for the application to be considered further, including any decisions made as part of the spending review”.
This is the third time the decision has been extended, with previous dates of 20 June and 4 October having also been missed.
