Quote: In January 2009 the Department for Transport proposed three major options to increase capacity east of London over the Thames, to be built downstream of the existing Dartford Crossing and an additional proposal to increase capacity at the Dartford Crossing.[1]
Option A: Building an additional road crossing at the current Dartford Crossing and removing the old Dartford crossing tunnels from the strategic road network.
Option B: A new road crossing in the Swanscombe Peninsula area, connecting the A2 near Dartford (south) to the A1089 road, north of Tilbury Docks.
Option C: A new road crossing connecting the M2 motorway and M20 motorways in the south with the M25. This might be linked via a proposed new Thames flood barrier. The route from the north would pass close to South Ockendon, Orsett, Chadwell St Mary, West Tilbury, East Tilbury, across West Tilbury Marshes before crossing the Thames just to the east of Gravesend and Thurrock. It would join the M2 in the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and in the Special Landscape Area. This proposed link is also within the Kent Downs AONB and special landscape area. According to the DfT this long route would have "considerable environmental impacts".
Also: Increased capacity on the current Dartford Crossing at a lower cost, however this option did not accommodate the predicted traffic growth in the longer term.
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