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Ministers have taken direct control of the £10bn Lower Thames Crossing, moving oversight from National Highways to the DfT under transport secretary Heidi Alexander. Planning consent stands and £590m is set aside for early works, with Balfour Beatty holding a £1.2bn roads contract, but full funding isn’t final and up to £2bn in private finance is still sought. Treasury-led centralisation aims to speed delivery; critics warn of HS2-style overruns, environmental harm and only marginal congestion relief.

The priorities of the Thames Estuary 2050 Growth Commission, which include equipping people with the right skills and providing high quality housing, have been announced during a visit by the new Chair and Deputy Chair. Read more at:- https://www.gov.uk/government/news/thames-estuary-2050-growth-commission-priorities-confirmed

Highways England’s boss has urged global construction giants to take advantage of new private finance opportunities in the UK, as he confirmed PF2 deals on the country’s two largest roads projects had edged closer. Chief executive Jim O’Sullivan told Construction News that Highways England was in the process of appointing legal

Campaigners fighting plans to build a Lower Thames Crossing where they live have lashed out at the “scandalous” handling of the project’s consultation – which saw the views of 13,000 people lumped together as 14 responses. The Lower Thames Crossing Association wrote to Transport Secretary Chris Grayling – before he

The transport secretary has said it is ‘likely’ motorists will have to pay to use the £4.4billion Lower Thames Crossing, when it eventually opens in the Gravesham countryside. Chris Grayling said it “wasn’t the first time” he had been caught in Dartford Crossing traffic after turning up an hour late

  Business chiefs and politicians from across Kent have been queuing up to offer their thoughts on today’s Lower Thames Crossing announcement. Transport secretary Chris Grayling this morning said Option C – east of Gravesend – was the government’s preferred route for the crossing. The planned route will run from

The preferred route for a new River Thames road crossing will be confirmed by the Government today. Highways England announced in January 2016 that it supported a proposed tunnel under the river, connecting Gravesend, Kent with Tilbury, Essex. The organisation, which is responsible for operating and improving England’s motorways and

THE Port of Tilbury, London’s major port and the closest significant transport operation to the proposed new motorway and tunnel, welcomes the Government’s decision today (12th April) on the Lower Thames Crossing. Charles Hammond, Chief Executive of the Forth Ports group (owner of the Port of Tilbury), welcomed the Government’s

“Any announcement now would risk breaking purdah rules for the Kent County Council elections. It remains incredibly frustrating that the government are still delaying making a decision. “All the time a decision isn’t made, the uncertainty for residents and businesses continues, the congestion increases and the air pollution, now at

Rumours of a Lower Thames Crossing announcement coming out today appear to have been halted by yesterday’s terror attack. Earlier this week senior figures in both Dartford and Gravesham both confirmed they were expecting a decision in the coming days, with one claiming transport secretary Chris Grayling was due to

A letter has winged its way to the Transport Secretary as part of an 11th hour bid to have the new Lower Thames Crossing built east of Gravesend. The government is tipped to announce their decision on the location of the long-awaited crossing in the next week, and Dartford MP

Toxic air, unsafe water and and lack of sanitation cause the deaths of 1.7 million under-fives every year. Pollution is responsible for one in four deaths among all children under five, according to new World Health Organisation reports, with toxic air, unsafe water, and and lack of sanitation the leading

Pollution levels around the Dartford Crossing have been excluded from government air quality assessments because it was classed as a “rural” road, the BBC has discovered Despite carrying 50 million vehicles a year, the status meant nitrogen dioxide recordings were not reported to the EU. Consisting of the Dartford Tunnel

The government has been urged to make a decision on the third Thames crossing by business chiefs who say the indecision is hurting the county’s economy. A letter signed by the Port of Dover, the Federation of Small Businesses, the Freight Transport Association and the London Chamber of Commerce to

Speculation is growing that the government’s stance on the location of a new Thames crossing could be confirmed as early as next week. During Dartford council’s budget meeting on Monday night, leader Cllr Jeremy Kite (Con) said he had reason to believe that an announcement “was not very far away”,