The first road crossing of the Thames constructed between Kent and Essex in 25 years will be a tunnel, the Highways Agency has decided.
Having settled on two possible new routes in 2013, it has announced that the preferred option is a road that would run from the end of the M2 and cross under the river from a point just east of Gravesend on the Kent side, emerging at Tilbury in Essex.
It will then go on to connect with the M25 between the existing junctions 29 and 30.
The proposals for the link will now be subject to public consultation until March 24th.
Senior project manager for Highways England Martin Potts said: "By choosing a tunnel rather than a bridge we can minimise the effects of the new road on the environment."
The alternative to the proposed plan was to have another crossing at Dartford.
A total of 24 public exhibitions of the route will be held in Kent and Essex before a decision is taken later this year.
