MPs have warned that the planned Lower Thames Crossing could force lorry drivers onto residential streets across Kent and Essex because the scheme includes no service station for commercial drivers.
The 14-mile crossing, designed to link the A2 near Gravesend with the A13 in Thurrock and the M25 near Upminster, currently contains no dedicated rest area for lorry drivers, despite early plans including one.
Concerns were raised in the House of Commons on Thursday by Ruth Cadbury, chair of the Transport Committee, during a debate on the Highways (Financing) Bill. She told MPs that hauliers need somewhere safe to stop and sleep, warning that under the current plans drivers needing rest would have to find an A-road layby with no toilets, no food and no safety.
Ms Cadbury described the omission as a national policy gap and warned it could push drivers off the dual carriageway and into nearby towns and residential areas in search of somewhere to park. She said the originally proposed truck stop had been removed from the plans, and she had been told there was no requirement to bring it back.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has said there is no requirement to include a service area in the scheme, a position that has dismayed local MPs and road hauliers.
Thurrock MP Jen Craft raised similar concerns during the debate, warning that the lack of facilities would worsen existing problems with lorry parking. She told the Commons her constituency already had significant issues with drivers parking in inappropriate places on roads not built for heavy vehicles because they cannot get into a service station, and asked whether the crossing could exacerbate the problem.
Ms Cadbury agreed, saying she absolutely believed it would make things worse because the crossing would significantly increase vehicle throughput, particularly trucks and lorries, on what was already a busy part of the road network.
Roads minister Justin Madders told MPs the new crossing was a key reason for introducing the Highways (Financing) Bill. He said it would almost double road capacity across the Thames to the east of London, improving journey times and tackling chronic congestion at Dartford, which he said was bursting at the seams.
Mr Madders stressed the Bill was not about the design of the crossing but about creating a financial framework to enable its delivery and similar future projects.
But Ms Cadbury warned that traffic problems could return soon after the crossing opens unless wider transport changes are made. She asked how long it would be before toll payers found themselves effectively paying to park on the approach road rather than paying to cross the Thames.
She called for a transport strategy that supports a shift away from road travel, urging ministers to incentivise alternatives so that road space remains available for journeys where there is no choice but to drive.
Ms Craft suggested using a small proportion of toll revenue from the crossing to subsidise a river ferry service between Kent and Essex, arguing a quick 10-minute hop across the water could reduce the need for longer road journeys. The former Gravesend to Tilbury ferry service, which provided a direct crossing between the two counties, ended in 2024.
The warning comes as drivers already face disruption around the existing Thames crossing. A crash at the Dartford Crossing partially blocked the QEII Bridge, overnight closures including a shutdown of the QEII Bridge have been affecting M25 drivers, and a lorry driver was fined £418 for breaching weight limits on the M25.
The Lower Thames Crossing is one of the largest road projects planned for the South East, and ministers say it will transform journeys between Kent and Essex. But with no rest facilities for the lorry drivers expected to use it in large numbers, MPs fear the chaos could simply be displaced onto local roads.
