Plans to build the new Lower Thames Crossing crossing at Option A - east of Dartford - have not been ruled out, according to Department for Transport (DfT) minister, Andrew Jones.
In an interview exclusive with News Shopper, Mr Jones, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, said: “It’s been a big issue for us as a department on a national scale.
“The people who make their minds up are not Highways England, it is the government.
“The government has put a question to them and they are in the process with coming up with an answer.
“We are very open minded.
“What’s new is we still have option A and option C but they came up with a preferred route which gives people a chance to interrogate it, to throw stones at it, to put forward counter-arguments and that is what’s so fundamentally different.
“But it’s not the same thing as saying people have made their minds up because we haven’t.”
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, Andrew Jones MP
Mr Jones added: “The Highways England report has identified their preferred option - the first time we’ve had a preferred option.
“As a government we said that we need to have more capacity crossing the Thames east of London.
“Their evaluation has suggested that location C was a strong choice and they have put their arguments forward.
“There are some environmentally sensitive sites - particularly in the marshes on the south side and that I think has been an influencing factor in the Highways England recommendations of a tunnel.”
The Dartford Crossing opened more than 50 years ago and is operating at well-over capacity, the minister confirmed.
According to Highways England, a new tunnel opening in 2025 at option C would take around 77,000 vehicles and bring the Dartford Crossing to around 138,000 vehicles per day.
Kent County Council has welcomed Highways England’s consultation on the Lower Thames Crossing but has not formally adopted a position on the proposals.
Highways England has confirmed it would prefer to build a tunnel east of Gravesend at Option C
Nearly 10,000 signatures have been obtained in a 38 degrees petition rejecting Option C.
The public consultation on the location of the Lower Thames Crossing will run until March 24.
All the responses will be analysed over the summer and a report is expected to be put forward by the end of the year, the DfT minister confirmed.
To submit your views on the crossing visit lower-thames-crossing.co.uk/
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