TRANSPORT chiefs have admitted the Thames Gateway Bridge would see 36 per cent more rush hour traffic than originally predicted.

Friends of the Earth London says the admission proves the £425m six-lane bridge, spanning the River Thames between Thamesmead and Beckton, will cause more traffic congestion if built.

Transport for London (TfL) says traffic levels would increase from 4,400 to 6,000 vehicles an hour in peak periods.

Friends of the Earth London co-ordinator Jennifer Bates said: “There are better ways to spend half a billion pounds.” TfL says the revised figure for the number of rush-hour vehicles follows further research, taking into account job creation and economic regeneration in the area.

Friends of the Earth London has also attacked TfL’s promotion of the bridge as a “local crossing” when a trip, which passes through one of the four nearest boroughs, Bexley, Greenwich, Newham and Barking & Dagenham, would be classified as a “local” trip irrespective of where the trip started in the country.

A TfL spokesman refused to define “local”. But he added: “We can say people living in these four boroughs will get preferential treatment for the bridge in terms of tolls.”