UK government has given £590 million to help build the country’s largest road tunnel.
This tunnel, called the Lower Thames Crossing will connect Tilbury in Essex with Gravesend in Kent and is expected to cost around £10 billion in total.
The tunnel project was officially approved in March after 16 years of planning, as per BBC.
The group managing the project, National Highways believes the new tunnel will help reduce traffic at the Dartford Crossing by 20%.
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the new tunnel will help goods move more easily and with fewer traffic delays from Europe to different parts of the UK.
"This is turning point for our national infrastructure, and we're backing it with funding to support thousands of jobs and connect communities," Reeves said.
Meanwhile, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said, "This project is essential for improving the resilience of a key freight route and is critical to our long-term trade with Europe."
UK's largest road project to feature twin tunnels beneath the River Thames:
National Highways expects the total cost of building the road to be between £9.2 billion and £10.2 billion, depending on how the project is funded.
As per the outlet, the new road will connect major highways, the A2 and M2 in Kent with the A13 and M25 in Thurrock and will stretch from the east of Tilbury to the east of Gravesend.
While, part of the road which is about 2.6 miles (4.2 kilometers) will go underground with two tunnels side by side under the River Thames.
Construction is expected to start in 2026 and the tunnel may open by 2032.
