Reeves backs £9bn Lower Thames Crossing as ‘important project’
Reeves backs £9bn Lower Thames Crossing as ‘important project’
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Rachel Reeves has given her backing to a new £9 billion road crossing between Kent and Essex. 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. 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.
