A new era of connectivity for Essex, Kent and the wider South East is moving closer.
Progress on the Lower Thames Crossing is a reminder of what ambitious infrastructure and engineering can achieve — delivering a transformational new connection designed to serve our economy and communities for generations.
The arrival of next-generation tunnel boring technology marks another important step towards delivering what will become the UK’s longest road tunnel, creating a vital new link beneath the Thames.
For Essex, this is about far more than building another road.
Connecting Essex to opportunity
For decades, journeys across the Thames east of London have relied heavily on the Dartford Crossing.
The Lower Thames Crossing has the potential to change that, creating additional capacity and improving connections between Essex, Kent and some of the country’s most important economic and transport hubs.
Better connectivity means stronger links for businesses and their supply chains, improved access to ports and freight networks, and more reliable journeys for commuters, families and communities.
It also creates new opportunities for jobs, skills, investment and economic growth across Essex and the wider region.
Supporting our ports and Freeport
Essex sits at the heart of one of the UK’s most important economic corridors.
Our ports, logistics businesses and international gateways connect the county to markets around the world, while Thames Freeport offers significant opportunities to attract new investment and create high-quality jobs.
But that potential depends on the infrastructure connecting them.
The Lower Thames Crossing can strengthen those connections, helping businesses move people and goods more efficiently and making Essex an even more attractive place to invest.
Infrastructure that supports growth
Economic growth requires ambition.
If we want businesses to invest, new industries to establish themselves here and communities to prosper, we need the roads, railways, energy infrastructure and skills to support them.
The Lower Thames Crossing represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build part of that infrastructure and improve connectivity across the Thames for decades to come.
It will be a major engineering achievement and a major investment in our future.
A better connected Essex means a more competitive Essex — with greater opportunities for investment, jobs and growth.