Lower Thames Crossing
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The Lower Thames Crossing is a planned road crossing of the
Thames estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain. Limits An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salinit ...
downstream of the
Dartford Crossing The Dartford–Thurrock River Crossing, commonly known as the Dartford Crossing and until 1991 the Dartford Tunnel, is a major road crossing of the River Thames in England, carrying the A282 road between Dartford in Kent in the south and Thurr ...
that links the counties of
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
and
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
, and its proposed approaches. When built it will pass through the districts of
Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Essex, England. It lies on the north bank of the River ...
and
Gravesham Gravesham ( ) is a local government district with borough status in north-west Kent, England. The council is based in its largest town of Gravesend. The borough is indirectly named after Gravesend, using the form of the town's name as it appear ...
, supplementing the
Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...
route. First proposed in the late 2000s, the crossing is designed to relieve the pressure on the existing A282 Dartford Crossing. The proposed route would connect the
M25 motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major ring road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 th ...
and A13 north of the river to the M2 motorway south of the river. If built, the crossing would have the longest road tunnel in the UK at . The road number A122 has been reserved for the new road. The crossing is estimated to cost approximately £9 billion and would take about six years to build following the granting of planning permission. A planning application was submitted in 2020, and withdrawn. A new planning application was submitted in November 2022; the planning process was expected to take 18 months, but this was extended to 4 October 2024, due to the July 2024 general election. A decision to further postpone a decision was announced in October 2024. The crossing was finally approved in March 2025, with construction planned to start in 2026.


Background

Described as "a crucial part of the country’s strategic road network", the
Dartford Crossing The Dartford–Thurrock River Crossing, commonly known as the Dartford Crossing and until 1991 the Dartford Tunnel, is a major road crossing of the River Thames in England, carrying the A282 road between Dartford in Kent in the south and Thurr ...
is the only fixed road crossing of the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...
east of
Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
. Although officially designated as the A282, the crossing is considered part of the
M25 motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major ring road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 th ...
orbital route around London. Last expanded in 1991 with the opening of the
Queen Elizabeth II Bridge The Dartford–Thurrock River Crossing, commonly known as the Dartford Crossing and until 1991 the Dartford Tunnel, is a major road crossing of the River Thames in England, carrying the A282 road between Dartford in Kent in the south and Thurr ...
, the crossing is the busiest estuarial route in the United Kingdom, with an average daily use of around 160,000 vehicles. The crossing has high levels of congestion, especially at peak times – with high levels of air pollution impacting neighbouring
Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Essex, England. It lies on the north bank of the River ...
and
Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames Estuary, is Thurrock in ...
. A variety of additional crossings downstream of the Dartford Crossing have been proposed. Until 2024, there was a ferry service operating between Gravesend and Tilbury, which predominantly carried foot passengers and bicycles, Monday to Saturday.


History

An additional Thames crossing downstream from Dartford was first considered in the Roads for Prosperity white paper in 1989, noting that it would " elieve theeast side of the M25 between Kent and Essex". The Lower Thames Crossing (LTC) was recommended for further investigation in the 2002 ''ORBIT'' Multi-Model Study, which examined orbital transport problems around London. In 2008, Metrotidal Ltd proposed the "Medway-Canvey Island crossing", a £2–4 billion combined road and rail tunnel between
Medway Medway is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Kent in South East England. It was formed in 1998 by merging the boroughs of City of Roche ...
and
Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames Estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office for National Statistics. ...
that would include a surge-tide barrier and a tidal power plant, which was supported by
Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Kent in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes the Unitary authorities of England, unitary auth ...
,
Essex County Council Essex County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Essex in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the non-metropolitan county excludes Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock which ...
, the Thames Gateway South Essex Partnership and the
Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport ...
. 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. In January 2009, the Department for Transport published a study regarding potential ways to address capacity issues crossing the Thames. This included short term measures to improve the existing Dartford Crossing, as well as evaluation of future crossings in the long term. The study considered five corridors that could provide a future crossing of the Thames, with options A, B and C to be investigated in further detail. * Option A – Additional capacity at the existing Dartford Crossing * Option B – Swanscombe Peninsula linking the A2 to the A1089 * Option C – East of
Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...
linking to the M20 * Option D – M2 link to
Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames Estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office for National Statistics. ...
* Option E –
Isle of Grain Isle of Grain (Old English ''Greon'', meaning gravel) is a village and the easternmost point of the Hoo Peninsula within the unitary authority, district of Medway in Kent, south-east England. Once an island and now forming part of the peninsul ...
linking to east of
Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...
The study also identified a lack of demand for additional passenger rail or rail freight capacity to cross the river beyond projects already under construction/completed, noting the
High Speed 1 High Speed 1 (HS1), officially the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), is a high-speed railway linking London with the Channel Tunnel. It is part of the line carrying international passenger traffic between the United Kingdom and mainland Euro ...
and
Crossrail Crossrail is a completed railway project centred on London. It provides a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system, akin to the Réseau Express Régional, RER in Paris and the S-Bahn systems of German-speaking countries, kn ...
projects would provide cross-river capacity between London and Kent. 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. This would presumably be an adaptation of Option C. In October 2012, plans were announced for the London Resort theme park 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". In April 2017, the Secretary of State for Transport
Chris Grayling Christopher Stephen Grayling, Baron Grayling, (born 1 April 1962), is a British politician and author who served as Secretary of State for Justice from 2012 to 2015, Leader of the House of Commons from 2015 to 2016 and Secretary of State for T ...
confirmed Option C as the preferred route for the Lower Thames Crossing. In November 2017, Highways England announced that its 'current thinking' for the design of the route encompassed a number of changes from that of the original public consultation: the route would now avoid a landfill site near Ockendon; the junction with the A13 would be redesigned and the junctions with the A128 and A226 would be removed. Furthermore, the A2 would be widened from its junction with the new crossing approach road to Junction 1 of the M2. In March 2018, Tim Jones in his position as LTC Project Director confirmed that the proposed LTC would not resolve all the problems both north and south of the river. In July 2019, Highways England said they expected to submit a planning application in summer 2020 and had a target for road opening of 2027. On 26 October 2020, Highways England submitted a Development Consent Order (DCO) for the project. However, it was withdrawn the following month after the planning inspectorate asked for more information regarding environmental impact and construction plans.


Proposed routes 2009

In January 2009, the Department for Transport proposed three major options to increase capacity east of
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
over the River Thames to be built downstream of the existing
Dartford Crossing The Dartford–Thurrock River Crossing, commonly known as the Dartford Crossing and until 1991 the Dartford Tunnel, is a major road crossing of the River Thames in England, carrying the A282 road between Dartford in Kent in the south and Thurr ...
and an additional proposal to increase capacity at the Dartford Crossing. *Option A: Building an additional road crossing at the current Dartford Crossing (A282) in addition to the current two tunnels (north) and four-lane bridge (South). **Option A Route 14: Proposed tunnel (approximately in length between the end of the M25 in Essex to the beginning of the M25 in Kent – essentially completing the London Orbital Road). Area covering junctions 30, 31, 1 and 2. *Option B: A new road crossing in the
Swanscombe Swanscombe /ˈswɔnzkəm/ is a town in the Borough of Dartford in Kent, England, and the civil parish of Swanscombe and Greenhithe. It is 4.4 miles west of Gravesend and 4.8 miles east of Dartford. History Prehistory Bone fragments and to ...
Peninsula area, connecting the A2 near Dartford (south) to the A1089 road, north of Tilbury Docks. This option was dropped in 2013 because of the proposed London Resort. *Option C: A new road crossing connecting the M25 in Essex with the M2/A2 in the south, which might be linked via a proposed new Thames flood barrier. The route from the north would start at M25 between Junctions 29 and 30, and pass South Ockendon, Orsett,
Chadwell St Mary Chadwell St Mary is an area of the unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex, England. It is one of the List of traditional (Church of England) parish churches in Thurrock, traditional (Church of England) parishes in Thurrock and a former civil pa ...
and
East Tilbury East Tilbury is a village and former civil parish in the unitary authority of Thurrock borough, Essex, England, and one of the traditional List of traditional (Church of England) parish churches in Thurrock, Church of England parishes in Thurro ...
before it crossed the
Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...
just to the east of
Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Essex, England. It lies on the north bank of the River ...
and
Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...
. It would join the M2/A2 at
Thong The thong is a Clothing, garment generally used as either underwear or in some countries, as a swimsuit. It may also be worn for traditional Ceremony, ceremonies or Sport, competitions. Viewed from the front, the thong typically resembles a b ...
. Option C has several variations, three possible routes to the north of the river, known as Option C Routes 1, 2 and 3 respectively. To the south of the river, the two options are known as the Western and Eastern southern links. There were three additional route options identified: *Option D1: M2 Link to A130 via Cliffe/ Pitsea *Option D2: M2 Link to A130 via
Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames Estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office for National Statistics. ...
*Option E:
Isle of Grain Isle of Grain (Old English ''Greon'', meaning gravel) is a village and the easternmost point of the Hoo Peninsula within the unitary authority, district of Medway in Kent, south-east England. Once an island and now forming part of the peninsul ...
Link to East of
Southend Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...
Following the first stage of location identification and appraisal, the 2009 study concluded that the three locations (A, B and C) offered the greatest benefits in terms of relieving congestion at the existing crossing and should be assessed further. Locations D and E were discounted due to either not meeting the traffic objective to relieve congestion, or providing very limited relief at the existing Dartford Crossing, as well as poor to low value for money.


2020 proposals

Highways England issued revised proposals in 2020 based on the previous Option C. The proposed route would run from the M25 at North Ockendon to the A2 at
Thong The thong is a Clothing, garment generally used as either underwear or in some countries, as a swimsuit. It may also be worn for traditional Ceremony, ceremonies or Sport, competitions. Viewed from the front, the thong typically resembles a b ...
, including an intermediate junction with the A13 and A1089 roads. The route would be 14.3 miles (23 km) including 2.6 miles (4.3 km) in twin tunnels with three traffic lanes, and would be an all-purpose
trunk road A trunk road is a major highway with a specific legal classification in some jurisdictions, notably the United Kingdom, Sweden and formerly Ireland. Trunk roads are planned and managed at the national-level, distinguishing them from non-trunk ro ...
rather than a motorway. Construction was expected to take six years. In April 2021, Highways England announced that they had split the construction of the road into three sections. Two contractors would build the roads north and south of the tunnel, at a cost of £1.3 billion and £600 million respectively. Another contractor would build the tunnel, at a cost of £2.3 billion. This would allow construction of the project to begin immediately after the DCO process is completed. The crossing was slated to cost between £6.4 billion and £8.28 billion, but investment in local roads is also likely to be necessary to deal with the predicted increases in traffic once the crossing opens. The cost of the proposed LTC is currently more expensive per mile than the HS2 project which is currently predicted to cost £307 million per mile of track, the LTC at current predicted costing would be nearly £573.5 million per mile. In November 2022, it was announced that the expected cost had risen to £9 billion.


Development Consent Order application (planning permission)

In October 2020, Highways England submitted their application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) for the proposed Lower Thames Crossing. After submission, the Planning Inspectorate requested details missing from the application, as well as more information on construction plans and the environmental impact of the scheme from Highways England. In November 2020, Highways England were advised that the Planning Inspectorate would not accept the application. Following this feedback, Highways England instead chose to withdraw the DCO application and carry out further work for a resubmission in 2021. On 20 March 2021, the 120 day internal deadline was missed. In summer 2022, a further local consultation took place, with a new DCO application submitted in November 2022. The DCO process is expected to take around 18 months, which will include public hearings. A decision on the Lower Thames Crossing was due on 20 June 2024, but this was delayed by six months because of the July 2024 general election. A new planning application was submitted in November 2022; the planning process was expected to take 18 months, but this was extended to 4 October 2024, due to the July 2024 general election. A decision to further postpone a decision was announced in October 2024. The crossing was finally approved in March 2025.


Construction

In January 2023,
Balfour Beatty Balfour Beatty plc () is an international infrastructure group based in the United Kingdom with capabilities in construction services, support services and infrastructure investments. A constituent of the FTSE 250 Index, the company is active ac ...
was announced as the contractor for the £1.2 billion Roads North of the Thames contract to construct of highways connecting the M25 at Junction 29 and the A13 with the northern side of the proposed tunnel. In July 2023, Skanska was announced as the contractor for the £450 million Kent Roads contract to construct of roads connecting the A2/M2 to the southern side of the proposed tunnel. In December 2023, a
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
(JV) of
Bouygues Bouygues S.A. () is a French engineering group headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Bouygues is listed on the Euronext, Euronext Paris exchange and is a blue chip (stock market), blue chip in the ...
and J. Murphy & Sons was announced as the contractor for the £1.3 billion Tunnels and Approaches contract to construct the tunnel, tunnel systems and approach roads. To save costs, the Bouygues-Murphy JV intends to use one
tunnel boring machine A tunnel boring machine (TBM), also known as a "mole" or a "worm", is a machine used to excavate tunnels. TBMs are an alternative to drilling and blasting methods and "hand mining", allowing more rapid excavation through hard rock, wet or dry so ...
for both tunnel bores, turning it around and reusing it. Subject to agreement on the DCO and 18 months of detailed design and pre-construction planning, construction work is estimated to take around 6 to 7 years. In March 2023, it was announced that the planned completion date of 2029 had been pushed back by two years. At this point, £800 million had already been spent on the project. , the target date for completion is 2032. Consent for the crossing was finally given in March 2025, with construction planned to start in 2026, but project financing was still to be agreed with the government exploring private finance options over public funding. In June 2025, the government granted the project £590 million.


Route

The proposed route involves a twin-bore tunnel crossing under the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...
east of
Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...
and
Tilbury Tilbury is a port town in the borough of Thurrock, Essex, England. The present town was established as separate settlement in the late 19th century, on land that was mainly part of Chadwell St Mary. It contains a Tilbury Fort, 16th century fort ...
, linked north of the river by a new road to the M25 between junctions 29 and 30 while south of the river the new road will directly join the A2 at
Thong The thong is a Clothing, garment generally used as either underwear or in some countries, as a swimsuit. It may also be worn for traditional Ceremony, ceremonies or Sport, competitions. Viewed from the front, the thong typically resembles a b ...
east of Gravesend. It will run west of Shorne, not to the east, as a result of consultations. The twin-bore tunnel itself would be and in diameter each, which would make it the largest and longest road tunnel in the UK. The tunnels will each have three lanes for traffic. There would be three junctions: Orsett on the A13, Thong on the A2 and north-bound slip roads on the M25 at junction 29. Junctions have been removed on the A226 south of Chalk and on the A128 at
Chadwell St Mary Chadwell St Mary is an area of the unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex, England. It is one of the List of traditional (Church of England) parish churches in Thurrock, traditional (Church of England) parishes in Thurrock and a former civil pa ...
in Essex.


Environmental impact

The Woodland Trust opposes the project and expects twelve ancient woodlands and fifteen veteran trees to be close to or within the development boundary. Some of these are within the Shorne and Ashenbank Woods, a
Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
. However, the Trust states that Highways England have not disclosed how many habitats will be affected by the project, and calls for them to release this information. Highways England say that new trees will be planted to compensate for the lost ancient woodlands, which "is not a direct replacement for lost or damaged trees or woodland".
Essex Wildlife Trust The Essex Wildlife Trust (EWT) is one of 46 The Wildlife Trusts, wildlife trusts which cover the United Kingdom. The EWT was founded in 1959, and it describes itself as Essex's leading conservation charity, which aims to protect wildlife for the ...
is also opposed. The Trust acknowledges that a bored tunnel avoids direct impact on the wetlands and coastal habitats of the Thames estuary, but states that habitats will be destroyed at the site of the northern entrance to the tunnel. It states that the project will fragment habitats and the noise and light pollution it causes will reduce the remoteness and tranquility of the area. The Trust is also concerned that the project will increase car dependency and induce demand, and that as a result it will not decrease congestion and will lead to increased carbon dioxide emissions. Transport Action Network is also opposed. Their report, Essex-Kent Superlinks, suggests sustainable alternatives to the Lower Thames Crossing that could bring better results at a fraction of the cost. The Thames Crossing Action Group has been campaigning against the scheme since 2016. They have compiled an A-Z of the impacts the Lower Thames Crossing would have, and describe how the scheme is not fit for purpose. Traffic modelling by Highways England predicts that constructing the Lower Thames Crossing would reduce the number of cars using the Dartford Tunnel. However, the total number of cars crossing the Thames (via the Lower Thames Crossing and the Dartford Tunnel) would increase. In addition to this, modelling predicts that the Dartford Tunnel would still be operating above capacity.


Mitigation

Highways England have stated that the road will be the "most environmentally sustainable road project delivered in the UK". Proposed landscaping and mitigation includes planting over 260 hectares of woodland, converting farmland to new habitats and building green bridges across the road. In 2024,
Forestry England Forestry England is a division of the Forestry Commission, responsible for managing and promoting publicly owned forests in England. Forest Enterprise, the precursor to Forestry England, was originally formed as a Great Britain-wide organizati ...
started developing Hole Farm Community Woodland, near
Brentwood, Essex Brentwood is a town in Essex, England, in the London metropolitan area, London commuter belt 20 miles (30 km) north-east of Charing Cross and close to the M25 motorway. The population of the built-up area was 55,340 in 2021. Brentwood is a t ...
, as a 100 acre woodland and visitor centre in conjunction with National Highways as part of the planned mitigation.


Carbon dioxide emissions

Highways England initially refused to release emissions figures. However, in response to a freedom of information request in December 2020 it was revealed that construction of the Lower Thames Crossing is expected to release two million tonnes of carbon dioxide. A further 3.2 million tonnes would be emitted by traffic created by the road over sixty years of operation. The Woodland Trust claims that the carbon emissions of the road scheme are expected to be amongst the highest of any major road scheme currently developed by National Highways.


Perspectives

Supporters of the project include His Majesty’s Government, business groups, trade organisations and major transportation hubs such as the
Port of Dover The Port of Dover is a cross-channel ferry, cruise terminal, maritime cargo and marina facility situated in Dover, Kent, south-east England. It is the nearest English port to France, at just away, and is one of the world's busiest maritime pas ...
. According to the
Federation of Small Businesses The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is a UK business organisation representing small and medium-sized businesses. It was formed in 1974 as the National Federation of Self Employed (NFSE). The current name for the organisation was adopted in ...
, 83% of local businesses surveyed support the proposed crossing. Some local authorities support the proposed crossing, despite expressing specific concerns regarding environmental impacts. Some campaign groups support the principle of a new crossing of the Thames, but not the chosen route. The Thames Crossing Action Group prefers new, longer tunnels at Dartford that would allow long-distance traffic on the M25 to bypass the existing Dartford Crossing. Two local authorities, Thurrock Borough Council and Gravesham Borough Council oppose the project. Environmental groups such as
Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...
, Woodland Trust,
Kent Wildlife Trust Kent Wildlife Trust (KWT) is a Conservation movement, conservation charity in the United Kingdom that was founded in 1958, previously known as the Kent Trust for Nature Conservation. It aims to "work with people to restore, save and improve ou ...
and
Campaign to Protect Rural England Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and that is grown commercially for sugar produ ...
have expressed their opposition to the project on environmental grounds.


See also

*
List of crossings of the River Thames The River Thames is the second-longest river in the United Kingdom, passes through the capital city, and has many crossings. Counting every channel – such as by its islands linked to only one bank – it is crossed by over 300 brid ...
* List of road projects in the UK * Silvertown Tunnel, a new road tunnel, located close to the
Blackwall Tunnel The Blackwall Tunnel is a pair of road tunnels underneath the River Thames in east London, England, linking the London Borough of Tower Hamlets with the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and part of the A102 road. The northern portal lies just south ...


References


Dartford River Crossing debate
''House of Commons Hansard'' (7 November 2006)

''Kent County Council'' (26 October 2006)

''House of Commons Hansard'' (19 October 2006)


External links


National Highways – Lower Thames Crossing
{{ThamesCrossings, west= Gravesend–Tilbury Ferry
Dartford Crossing The Dartford–Thurrock River Crossing, commonly known as the Dartford Crossing and until 1991 the Dartford Tunnel, is a major road crossing of the River Thames in England, carrying the A282 road between Dartford in Kent in the south and Thurr ...
, east=
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...
Proposed transport infrastructure in South East England Crossings of the River Thames Proposed transport infrastructure in the East of England Transport in Thurrock Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (United Kingdom) Proposed tunnels in the United Kingdom