To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video. Up Next. Urgent calls have been made for a second crossing over the River Thames after traffic chaos at Dartford, labelled the UK’s ‘largest bottleneck on traffic.’.
![[Metro map showing the location of the Lower Thames Crossing between Essex and Kent near Dartford Crossing and the M25.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_233745536-a894.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Even those who don’t drive have heard the name Dartford Crossing, the huge bridge over the River Thames connecting the M25 to Essex and Kent. According to National Highways, an average of 150,000 vehicles a day use the tunnel and crossing – 20,000 more vehicles than it was originally built for.
![[Lower Thames Crossing]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_187299310-4a23.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
This is why National Highways and local campaigners are pushing for another crossing further east – the Lower Thames Crossing – to ease congestion in the area. The Lower Thames Crossing project has been in the pipeline since 2009, but it was delayed further in October when the government’s planning decision was pushed back until May 2025.
![[Lower Thames Crossing]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_187299442-c5a7.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
However, sustainable transport campaigners have called for the project to be ‘put out of its misery’ after environmental and cost-related concerns. National Highways said the Lower Thames Crossing would help shift traffic away from Dartford. It is the only river crossing east of London – compared to 16 crossings between the Blackwall Tunnel and west London.
