Skip to main content

Mayor sets out bold vision for 13 new river crossings for London

A bold vision to transform cross-river travel in London has been unveiled by the Mayor of London. A total of 13 new tunnels and bridges have been proposed as part of the Mayor’s vision for the future of the Capital, increasing the total number of river crossings between Imperial Wharf and Dartford by more than a third, and the number for pedestrian and cyclists by nearly 50 per cent. The proposals, which would cater for both public transport and road users, are detailed in a new strategic plan that
December 4, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
A bold vision to transform cross-river travel in London has been unveiled by the Mayor of London.
 
A total of 13 new tunnels and bridges have been proposed as part of the Mayor’s vision for the future of the Capital, increasing the total number of river crossings between Imperial Wharf and Dartford by more than a third, and the number for pedestrian and cyclists by nearly 50 per cent.
 
The proposals, which would cater for both public transport and road users, are detailed in a new strategic plan that outlines how vital new cross-river transport links are in securing London’s future success.
 
The report, Connecting the Capital, shows how the proposed crossings will support the needs of London’s rapidly growing population, which is set to rise from 8.6 million now to 10 million by 2030.
 
Subject to funding, the new crossings will be progressed across London to be delivered between now and 2050. The majority will be in east London, where population growth will be highest – with over one third of London’s total population growth expected in the area.  Existing cross-river connections in east London are poor, with just three road crossings in the 23km between Tower Bridge and the M25, and just one bus route that crosses the river.
 
A consultation has been launched on two of the proposed crossings to improve connections between east and southeast London. 1466 Transport for London (TfL) is consulting on crossings at Gallions Reach to link Thamesmead and Beckton, and Belvedere, linking Belvedere to Rainham. Both are planned to include a range of transport options and the consultation is asking for views about potential public transport links.

Related Content

  • October 10, 2013
    Progress in talks on new Sydney toll road
    Toll roads operator Transurban says it has made good progress in its talks with the New South Wales government on a US$2.5 billion tunnel proposal for Sydney's north. The proposed project would be a tolled motorway linking the M1 Pacific Motorway, formerly the F3 freeway, at Wahroonga to the M2 toll road at West Pennant Hills. The project involves the construction of new eight kilometre tunnel, which would be the longest tunnel of its kind in Australia. “We have made significant progress in our disc
  • July 26, 2012
    Personal Rapid Transit, clear benefits for European cities
    David Crawford watches the race to get the world's first PRT system up and running. To paraphrase the old joke about buses bunching, you seem to have to wait several decades for a Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system, and then half a dozen come along together. Currently, in fact, there are well over that number of schemes for driverless electric passenger-carrying 'pod' networks at various stages of planning, design and implementation around the world. Locations range from a straight-off-the-drawing board ne
  • February 16, 2024
    Cycling data suggests rise in bike use in European cities
    New figures from France, Italy and the UK demonstrate uptick in active travel
  • May 9, 2019
    TRL: Cities must do more to help VRUs
    UK cities must learn from the Netherlands and Denmark if active travel and increased safety for vulnerable road users are to co-exist, says TRL’s Marcus Jones Active travel’ refers to modes of transport in which physical effort is required to undertake purposeful journeys - for example, walking or cycling to school, work or the local shops, as well as walking and standing as part of accessing public transport. The benefits of replacing short car journeys with more active forms of transport are obvious. Act