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Lower Thames Crossing project cites £3.1bn public funding and long tunnel

National Highways says the 14.5-mile Lower Thames Crossing is expected to be completed with private-sector funding beyond the government’s £3.1bn commitment.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Trade & Tariffs

Andy Burnham is traveling across the UK with a focus on reconnecting government and voters, but a National Highways announcement has highlighted the financial pull of London. The agency said a large tunneling machine, 16.4 metres in diameter, will take England’s most expensive road under the Thames as part of the Lower Thames Crossing.

The Lower Thames Crossing is described as a contested 14.5-mile venture on the edge of Greater London, with objections from local councils and opponents who argue it would only provide short-term congestion relief while damaging ancient woodland and habitats. The planned road tunnel is 2.6 miles long, and the project involves twin-boring to carry two three-lane highways connecting the M25 in Essex to the A2/M2 in Kent.

So far, the project has been priced at £10bn to £11bn, and the government has committed £3.1bn for funding the tunnel. The text says the remainder is expected from the private sector.

The piece also compares the Lower Thames Crossing with other infrastructure priorities, noting that on some estimates it could cost more per mile than the HS2 rail link from London to the Midlands, which it says would end at Handsacre junction. It adds that National Highways has also scrapped a 13-mile dualling of the A1 in Northumberland, while pointing to growing concerns outside London over resources like energy and water for the region’s expansion of data centres.

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