UK to build its largest road tunnel project – which will cost over £9.2 billion

17 comments

1. I can’t believe that this is still being built. It was first discussed when I was in high school and am now married with children in my 30s.

2. I thought we were in a cost of living crisis ? Use that money to build affordable homes instead FFS.

3. So why no hs2?

4. After the blistering success of HS2 then of course we should undertake another huge infrastructure project.

5. Is this one for bats or people?

6. https://www.reddit.com/r/unitedkingdom/s/QSgojVZm2S

   Which one is it?

7. So 9.2bn for this, but cant scrape a billion for schemes like the Stonehenge tunnel, the Arundel bypass, etc, which would have helped far more people if they weren’t canned

   Labour are a joke

8. > An initial consultation process has cost £1.2 billion…

   Dear Lord!

9. In reality, it’s gonna cost way more and only go so far as Essex

10. only £20billion, what a bargain

11. Another southern project.

12. *Designed to be Britain’s greenest road, the Lower Thames Crossing has taken a new approach to road design and building by cutting construction carbon and restoring nature.*

    *In a statement on Monday (16 June), the government said it will pledge £590 million to the project after finalising consultations in March. The government said it was looking to source private finance to build the project, with construction expected to start in 2026 and continue until 2032.*

    *The Lower Thames Crossing project has been dogged by controversy, with the project first mooted over 16 years ago. An initial consultation process has cost £1.2 billion, and there are now hopes that official government funding will see the project start in earnest. National Highway’s latest financial statements show said the would cost at least £9.2 billion.*

    *“Efficient logistics with minimal delays is critical to the delivery of the government’s growth agenda, and our members are delighted to hear that funding has been made available to start work on the long-planned Lower Thames Crossing, after a decade of holdups at this vital interchange,” said policy director Kevin Green.*

    Place your bets Ladies and Gents on what the final cost will be :

    – £10-20Bn?

    – £20-50Bn?

    – N/A as will never be finished in a recognisable form.

    So glad to see the deprived South East get some of the investment from the government – £590m of £1Bn

    *The new funding for the crossing is part of a wider £1bn “structures fund” to be spent on repairing bridges, flyovers and tunnels across the country, as well as ensuring infrastructure is “more resilient to extreme weather events”.*

    [https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jun/16/uk-government-pledges-further-590m-for-delayed-lower-thames-crossing](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jun/16/uk-government-pledges-further-590m-for-delayed-lower-thames-crossing)

13. If HS2 is anything to go by this will end up costing £50 billion

14. So final cost will be 30 then.

15. ‘Designed to be Britain’s greenest road, the Lower Thames Crossing has taken a new approach to road design and building by cutting construction carbon and restoring nature.’

    That’ll be why its so expensive, tokenism.

16. An astronomical amount of money but at least it will solve a really big problem – not enough road traffic in the SE.

17. Another 10bn to the London and south east region. Meanwhile HS2 can’t even make it to Birmingham.

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