No decision on £9bn Lower Thames Crossing

A Government decision on whether to go ahead with a new £9 billion road crossing between Kent and Essex will not be announced before next week.

Friday was the statutory deadline for whether to approve the 14.3-mile long Lower Thames Crossing, but the Department for Transport (DfT) said an update will be given “in due course”.

Work on the project has been ongoing since 2009, and more than £800 million of taxpayers’ money has been spent on planning.

The PA news agency understands Parliament will be updated after it returns from recess on Monday.

A DfT spokesperson said: “An update on the application will be provided in due course.

“We cannot comment any further on a live application.”

The Lower Thames Crossing proposal is aimed at reducing congestion on the Dartford Crossing with a new motorway-style road.

It would connect the A2 and M2 in Kent to the A13 and M25 in Essex via a 2.6-mile long 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.

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 the scheme.

Local campaigners Thames Crossing Action Group claim the crossing would be “hugely destructive and harmful”, and a waste of money.

In July, Chancellor Rachel Reeves cancelled the £1.7 billion Stonehenge tunnel scheme and the A27 Arundel bypass project in West Sussex, but did not mention the Lower Thames Crossing.