A new video is giving drivers an insight on how they might be able to cross the Thames between Essex and Kent.
The Lower Thames Crossing will run underwater from Tilbury to Gravesend.
There will be two tunnels with three lanes in each direction and there is going to be a new road linking the tunnel with the M25 between J29 and J30.
The tunnels, due to open in 2027, have been highly controversial and criticised by politicians and campaign groups.
Thurrock Council Leader Rob Gledhill called it “the worst possible option” when the route was announced in April 2017.
Locals in Thurrock are upset by the loss of green space and the destruction with one resident saying: “It’s a shattering blow because it blights the whole borough, it carves up a huge amount of Greenbelt land. It’s a blight that will go through the whole borough and it’s quite catastrophic.”
But Highways England says it will reduce the pressure on the M25 Dartford Crossing and increase capacity for traffic to cross the Thames by 70%
Highways England has now released a video showing what the road and tunnel could look like.
Highways England project director Tim Jones said: “The video fly-through of the Lower Thames Crossing will give people a better understanding of how the proposed road and tunnel could look once built.
“We are continuing to develop the design based on feedback from stakeholders and local communities so that we put forward a route which maximises the positive opportunities the Lower Thames Crossing could bring, while minimising impacts on communities and the environment.
“This video does not represent the final design, and we will continue to share our thinking and designs as we approach statutory consultation later this year.”
Matt Jackson, Vice Chair of the Thames Crossing Action Group, said: “The TCAG are grateful to highways England for sharing this model. It goes some way to demonstrate how destructive to communities the Lower Thames crossing is.
“60,000 more vehicles across the region is very worrying to anyone in Essex, Kent and the surrounding counties.
“The interesting focus should now be ‘how will the north east quadrant of the m25 cope with this extra capacity?’”
Work is still ongoing to finalise the route and campaigners and political groups are being consulted in the process.
Tags: Thurrock, Tilbury, Gravesend, Kent
