Dartford MP Gareth Johnson and Dartford Borough Council Leader Jeremy Kite have written a joint letter to the Transport Secretary Chris Grayling in a last ditch attempt to persuade him to choose option C east of Gravesend as the site for the Lower Thames crossing.

Talking about the announcement, which is expected this month. Mr Johnson said: “Even at this eleventh hour we need Chris Grayling to understand that another crossing at Dartford would be catastrophic for the area.

“Our roads cannot cope now with the congestion caused by the crossing, and the pollution levels are dangerously high, so this is the last opportunity to convince Mr Grayling that building the Lower Thames Crossing east of Gravesend and not at Dartford is the right approach.

“It is an eleventh hour plea for common sense to prevail, we cannot have another crossing at Dartford and the years of road works and misery that it would bring.”

The consultation on where the Lower Thames Crossing should be built has been closed since March last year.

In the letter Gareth Johnson and Jeremy Kite said: "We urge you to make the right decision – right for our region, right for motorists, right for air quality, right for local people and right for the economy If our country is to continue to prosper as we widen our economic horizons - as we know it can - it needs a commitment to the right infrastructure, not just the cheap or easy solution.

“Residents and motorists can see that only Option C provides the necessary resilience to keep our region and economy moving.

"We have, as I hope you know, been making our points robustly but reasonably for many months now. We have done so because we know how catastrophic a failure to provide a new crossing away from Dartford would be – to health, to the wellbeing of local people, to the economy, to ambition and to growth. It is time for the right decision and your commitment.”

Dartford Labour leader, Jonathon Hawkes also said: "The government need to end uncertainty that has been dragging on for many years. They had the opportunity to do that in the budget but there was no account for when and where the crossing will be built."

Highways England have previously recommended the new road be built to the east of Gravesend.