Projects

Lower Thames Crossing: Improving connections and economic growth opportunities

The Lower Thames Crossing is a proposed new road with a tunnel beneath the River Thames, connecting Kent, Thurrock and Essex.

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Lower Thames Crossing

The Lower Thames Crossing is England’s single biggest roads investment project since the M25 was completed more than 30 years ago, is unprecedented in size and scale, making it the longest road tunnel in the U.K. One of the largest diameter bored tunnels in the world, it will give the opportunity to transform journeys across the south-east and beyond.

Community impact

The Lower Thames Crossing will form a vital part of the U.K.'s transport infrastructure, and the areas it will serve are home to economic hubs, key U.K. ports and thriving communities. It will help businesses large and small to grow and bring people and communities closer to jobs, education and leisure opportunities.

The Lower Thames Crossing will almost double road capacity across the River Thames, east of London. The 70mph crossing and the new connecting road network will provide, quicker, safer and more reliable journeys locally, regionally and nationally. At the end of 2018, the project completed the most significant roads consultation ever undertaken in the U.K. with a record-breaking response. The project is now in a critical phase of development as we help Highways England seek permission to build the crossing and begin the procurement to identify the partners that will undertake the construction.

Lower Thames Crossing fly through
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Lower Thames Crossing fly through

What is involved?

Jacobs is Integration Partner for the program, acting as a catalyst for collaboration between Highways England and the Lower Thames Crossing’s three main works contracts responsible for delivering the most ambitious road scheme in a generation. As Integration Partner we bring a diverse range of capabilities to create a strong support function to Highways England for the project, including program management, stakeholder management and risk management. 

Jacobs and our partners will begin to prepare the scheme to move into the delivery phase, subject to planning consent, so that main works contractors will be in a good position to be quickly mobilized. We will also support the successful delivery of the construction, integrated system commissioning and handover to operations helping to ensure the project leaves a great legacy.

The project is at the stage where it will resubmit the its application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) to the Planning Inspectorate. This follows many years of design development and a program of consultation.

Lower Thames Crossing

  • 90 %

    extra road capacity to be created across the river connecting Essex and Kent

  • 70

    miles per hour

  • 14.5

    mile route offering new connections