The Dartford-Thurrock river crossing, commonly known as the Dartford Crossing or Dartford Tunnel, has been suffering from major issues for a number of years. With its development first being considered in the 1930s, it was never intended to deal with the amount of traffic that exists today, and an average daily use of over 130,000 vehicles. The tunnel was opened in stages, with two tunnels and a bridge being built between 1963 and 1991, and this constant need for expansion highlights the large volume of traffic that crosses what is actually the only fixed road crossing of the Thames east of Greater London. Described as ‘one of the most important road crossings in Britain’, the tunnel, bridge and surrounding area all suffer with heavy traffic and congestion due to the lack of alternative routes for residents and commuters.

Problems caused by the Dartford Crossing, and numerous complaints made by the residents of the Dartford area alongside local MPs have forced the government to look into creating an alternative to the Dartford Tunnel. Highways England has announced a range of options that they propose will solve the congestion problems within Dartford, and help residents and commuters avoid the daily traffic jams that have so long caused problems within the local area; their preferred route has been announced as ‘Option C’.

‘Option C’ will connect Tilbury to Gravesend and create another much-needed link between Kent and Essex. The planned road would run from the M2 in Kent to the M25 between Junctions 29 and 30 in Essex, tunnelling under the Thames east of Gravesend and Tilbury. However, some residents of Gravesend and Shorne, the two areas that would be primarily affected by the introduction of this new crossing, are urging the government to choose an alternative route, and petitions online and even protests have been used to show the how angered local residents feel about the possible threat that the tunnel could cause to their homes and the local countryside.

One petition on the website ‘petitionparliamentuk’ has reached over 2,500 signatures, and highlights how strongly Gravesham residents feel about something that they will believe may reduce their quality of life by increasing traffic levels within the Gravesham area substantially, and also destroy an area of outstanding natural beauty. Local resident Sheila, who lives in the Shorne area, feels that the crossing will affect house prices and will ‘decrease the value of [her] home’, and ‘affect the natural beauty of the area’ something that she is greatly upset by as she bought her property primarily on the grounds that she loved the surrounding countryside, and now feels ‘let down’ and ‘angry’ because this could all change in the next few years. However, alternatively, retired resident of Dartford, Alan Dobbs believes that ‘something needs to be done’ about the traffic that he faces on a ‘daily’ basis.

Overall, the problem of ‘Option C’ is a controversial one, and has caused great unrest within the Gravesham area. Highways England have a hard job ahead of them in terms of convincing the public that ‘Option C’ is not only the most viable option for residents of Dartford, but residents of Gravesham too.