In her response to the Government’s consultation, Thurrock MP Jackie Doyle-Price has called on the Government to rerun the consultation to look at more options downstream and upstream of the existing Dartford crossing.
She has also said that a new Lower Thames crossing should herald the start of a new orbital ring road and should not put more traffic onto the already congested A13 and M25. Jackie said, “I would like to see more crossings east of Tower Bridge and I am pleased that the Mayor of London is to build a new crossing at Silvertown and is also looking at another bridge proposal.
Both these crossings will alleviate some of the London traffic away from the Dartford crossing. It is frustrating that the Highways Agency seems to ignore what is happening in London because the Mayor is the responsible Highways authority. Government needs a more integrated approach to planning for transport need and these proposals should be considered with those proposed in London. The crossing is however part of the nation’s transport infrastructure and the Government in bringing forward proposals for a new crossing must bear this in mind. It simply isn’t good enough for a sticking plaster solution. We need to be planning forward to make the necessary investment in road infrastructure which will support jobs and growth in for the coming decades.
The M25 has capacity issues and it is time to look at the potential for a new outer ring road. The options currently under review were first proposed in 2009 along with two further options. These were Option D - M2 link to Canvey Island and Option E - Isle of Grain link to east of Southend. I therefore believe that with so much support being expressed for Option C, the Government should look again at options D and E and properly consider the proposal for a new outer ring road