Crossing could see town traffic rise by a quarter
The proposed Lower Thames Crossing would see thousands more vehicles travelling into Maidstone every day, according to projections.
The £6bn scheme to build a tunnel connecting Gravesend and Tilbury in Essex is designed to relieve the already-congested Dartford Crossing. But the knock-on effect of traffic using the new route is expected to impact a number of areas across the county, including Maidstone.
In its response to Highways England’s latest consultation, last week, the borough council said it was in favour of the scheme, but called on transport bosses to ease the pressure by making improvements to the County Town’s road network.
Traffic projections suggested that by 2026, there would be 2,916 vehicles travelling into Maidstone from the M20 in the morning peak if the crossing wasn’t built.
If it were to go ahead, the document - produced by Peter Brett Associates on behalf of Kent County Council - predicted there would be 3,688 vehicles using the route - an increase of 772, or 26.5%.
It anticipated the number of lorries using Blue Bell Hill would almost double, while areas such as Loose and Linton, as well as the M2, would also experience significantly more traffic. The council said the predicted increases were “of grave concern.”
Council leader Cllr Martin Cox said: “We’ve said very strongly to the Lower Thames Crossing people ‘you should be including us (in the scheme) because Blue Bell Hill is going to be worse’.
“There will be an opportunity to state our case that our roads are already at 95% of capacity.”
Cllr Brian Clark added: “Given this is a consultation response, we can’t necessarily action them to do anything to make the changes to the A229.
“But I hope we can continue to lobby Highways England, given they said this may be something we can address in a separate package.”