The 10-week consultation on the Lower Thames Crossing has now closed, recording a record number of response for a consultation of its type.

The plans include a 2.4 mile-long tunnel under the Thames between Gravesend and Tilbury

More than 26,000 people had their say on the proposals for a major new road to link Kent, Thurrock and Essex – marking Britain’s biggest road project since the M25 was built.

The project will create a new, three-lane dual carriageway connecting the M2 near Rochester and the M25 in Essex between North and South Ockenden. It would include a 2.4 mile-long tunnel under the Thames between Gravesend and Tilbury – the longest road tunnel in the UK – and, at over 50 feet wide, the third largest bored tunnel in the world.

These latest plans include an updated, more detailed design which aims to maximise the project’s huge benefits and includes significant changes to minimise the impact on local communities and the environment.

The next stage of the project’s development will be to work through people’s comments in detail and use them to produce an updated design which will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for planning consent. The application and examination process will offer people a further opportunity to share their views on the project. Subject to statutory processes construction could start in 2022, with the new road opening to traffic in 2027.