£9 billion M25 tunnel between Kent and Essex that would relieve Dartford Crossing pressure backed by Rachel Reeves
A £9 billion M25 tunnel between Kent and Essex has moved a step closer after receiving the backing of The Chancellor Rachel Reeves in a significant new announcement.
The Chancellor said the 14.3-mile Lower Thames Crossing (LTC) is an “important project” and the Treasury is “exploring options” for it to be privately financed.
Preparatory work on the scheme has been ongoing since 2009, and hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money has been spent on planning.
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Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is expected to make a final decision on whether to approve National Highways’ application for a development consent order to build the scheme by May 23.
The Lower Thames Crossing proposal is aimed at reducing congestion on the Dartford Crossing with a motorway-style road. It would connect the A2 and M2 in Kent to the A13 and M25 in Essex through a 2.6-mile tunnel under the Thames, which would be the UK’s longest road tunnel.
National Highways says the plan will almost double road capacity across the Thames east of London, describing it as “our most ambitious scheme in 35 years”. It is aiming to start construction in 2026, with the road opening in 2032.
In a speech on growth in Oxfordshire, Ms Reeves said: “We will work with the private sector to deliver the infrastructure that our country desperately needs.
“This includes the Lower Thames Crossing, which will improve connectivity at Dover, Felixstowe and Harwich, alleviating severe congestion, as goods destined to export come from the North and the Midlands and across the country to markets overseas.
“To drive growth and deliver value for money for taxpayers, we are exploring options to privately finance this important project.”
Thurrock Council in Essex has consistently opposed the project, citing negative economic, social and environmental impacts, but the leader of Kent’s Dartford Borough Council is in favour of it.
Friends of the Earth has described the scheme as “damaging”. Responding to Ms Reeves’s comments, campaign group Transport Action Network said: “Exploring options for privately financing the LTC does nothing to address its fundamental flaws: generating ever more traffic and harmful emissions, devastating the market for international rail freight, and damaging the competitiveness of our seaports north of the Thames.
“With tolls at Dartford and the LTC set to be equalised, they will inevitably rise even higher to pay back investors.”