THE executive director of the Lower Thames Crossing project has defended more delays and yet another round of consultation – saying it is a 'once in a lifetime' procedure which is important to get right.

Matt Palmer, executive director for National Highways project, was speaking after dates were announced for another consultation process.

There have already been several consultations over the past decade, while the whole project was first mooted in 1989. Tens of millions of pounds have been spend on administration and reports in that time and many more millions on exploratory work on land either side of the Thames in the past ten years.

The 20th century closed after 11 years of talking about a new crossing, largely driven by Kent County Council, and since the millennium, the government has taken the lead on the issue, though it wasn't until 2009 that the Department for Transport published its own proposals.

They led to the development of a number of different routes linking the M2 with the M25 and eventually, in April 2017 the then Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling confirmed Option C as the preferred route for the Lower Thames Crossing. That route blazes a trail right through Thurrock, weaving its way for a tunnel that makes landfall near Tilbury and a major road that weaves it way between East Tilbury, Chadwell and Orsett before linking up with the M25 north of Ockendon.

The decision was reached after 'consultation' and then, in November of the same year a rethink was announced when Highways England announced that its 'current thinking' for the design of the route encompassed a number of changes from that of the original public consultation: the route would now avoid a landfill site near Ockendon; the junction with the A13 would be redesigned and the junctions with the A128 and A226 would be removed. In Kent the A2 would be widened from its junction with the new crossing approach road to Junction 1 of the M2.

In March 2018, Tim Jones in his position as LTC Project Director confirmed that the proposed LTC would not resolve all the problems both north and south of the river.

In July 2019, Highways England said they expected to submit a planning application in Summer 2020 and had a target for road opening of 2027. On 26 October 2020, Highways England submitted a Development Consent Order for the project. However, it was pulled the following month after the planning inspectorate asked for more information regarding environmental impact and construction plans.

That led to more consultation processes, the latest of which has been announced by Mr Palmer – the successor to Tim Jones.

Explaining the latest round of opinion-taking, Mr Palmer says: "The Lower Thames Crossing is a once in a generation opportunity to address one of the most congested routes in the country.

"We understand that millions who use Dartford every year are keen to see the road open as soon as possible, but getting the views of the local community on these local refinements before we submit our planning application later this year is vital to help us maximise the benefits of this transformative project."

The new five-and-a-half week consultation on the £8.2 billion project will run from Thursday, 12 May to Monday, 20 June. It had been expected to take place between March 24 and April 22.

The new 'Lower Thames Crossing Local Refinement Consultation' will include amended plans for Tilbury Fields and a new public park on the north bank of the Thames. A replacement slip road on the A13 junction and a new footbridge over the A127 are also included in the plans. The announcement comes in the wake of a call by the Thurrock-based Thames Crossing Action Group for the government to go back to the drawing board over the whole scheme, citing a raft of concerns over the project, including delays to the scheme, the pollution it may cause and concerns over the use of smart motorway technology, which has been halted nationally over safety concerns. Action group chair Laura Blake says: "Given the 18-month delays and the scale of this high-risk scheme, the Secretary of State must surely consider it essential to undertake a full review and consideration. "Lower Thames Crossing is obviously a project that the Secretary of State inherited from his predecessor, and we hope that given its risk, harms and cost he will thoroughly review it."

The consultation material will be available on a dedicated consultation website from May 12. To see it, click this link.

As time ticks by the cost of the project continues to rise, despite government pledges to the contrary.

In January 2020 Highways England reported the project was still on target to be delivered within its projected budget of between £5.3bn and £6.8bn.

Project development director David Manning say he was confident the project will be delivered "within the same range".

He did add: "We recognise that this scheme, like many major infrastructure projects, is full of high complexity and uncertainty and, indeed, we're still uncovering what is beneath our feet with the ground investigations.

Just over two years on, those cost predictions have already risen to more than eight billion.