4 Are you responding on your own behalf or on behalf of an organisation or group?

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1 RHA response to Highways England Lower Thames Crossing Consultation About you The following questions will help us to understand the range of people and organisations who have responded to this consultation and to identify local issues. The information you provide will not be used for any purpose other than assessing responses to this consultation and for other reasons explained in this questionnaire. 1 Name Steve Barry, RHA Business Unit Director (South) 2 Postcode PE3 8DD 3 address s.barry@rha.uk.net 4 Are you responding on your own behalf or on behalf of an organisation or group? Providing a response on behalf of an organisation or group The Road Haulage Association 5 On balance do you agree or disagree with our proposal for the location of a crossing, at Location C? Tend to agree

2 The RHA supports Option C which gives a shorter route to the ports, improving efficiency and saving carbon and reducing other emissions. Option C also has the advantage of offering alternative routes to drivers should there be closure or incident in the Dartford area; the existence of straightforward alternatives is important for road hauliers for reasons of business efficiency. A crossing at Option C will free up the existing Dartford Crossing from traffic heading into Essex from the West & East, Kent Quadrant. Option C will also provide a versatile Thames crossing for all transiting traffic heading to or from the north of the country, via both the Kent ports and Eurotunnel. Overall the RHA prefers a tunnel to bridge, as it should provide greater predictability and resilience in case of severe weather. We would ask that the tunnel should accommodate tall trailers of up to 5.03 metres, so that double decker vehicles can be accommodated. 6 There are three route options north of the river in Essex Routes 2, 3 and 4. Where do you think the route should be located north of the river? Route 2 The RHA would prefer to see Route 2 constructed since this option would fit most easily with the planned expansion of Tilbury with easier access to the port and the new truck stop. Alternatively, Route 3 with a slight variation is an option because it is potentially shortest road hauliers. 7 Thinking about the three route options north of the river, on balance do you agree or disagree with our proposal for each of these? Route 2 tend to agree Route 3 tend to agree

3 Route 4 tend to agree 8 Where do you think the route should be located south of the river? Western Southern Link Given that construction of the Western Southern Link requires less land and is predicted to have a lesser environmental impact, the RHA would support the adoption of this route, since the other route does not have significant benefits in terms of efficiency for road hauliers. 9 Thinking about the two route options south of the river, on balance do you agree or disagree with our proposal for each of these? Eastern Southern Link Tend to agree Western Southern Link Tend to agree 10 Having evaluated the options, our proposed scheme is a new bored tunnel road crossing at Location C, following Route 3 north of the river and the Eastern Southern Link south of the river. On balance, do you agree or disagree with our proposed scheme? Neither agree nor disagree

4 We support Route 2, but option 3 is an acceptable alternative, and we do not object to the adoption of the Eastern Southern Link proposal, although we prefer the Western Southern Link Option. 11 We would welcome any comments you may have on our proposals for junctions. Feedback on additional junctions A2 both outward in inward bound to Port of Dover A2 Junctions: We note that there are no planned changes for the Faversham Dover part of the A2. We would be grateful for confirmation on this point. Our members report that the Duke of York Roundabout A2 (top of Jubilee Way) already experiences existing peak hour congestion issues, and Whitfield Roundabout A2 has all day congestion issues and is an accident blackspot for left-hand drive vehicles trying to gain access to the roundabout. In the view of the RHA, the single A2 lane carriageway from Whitfield to Lydden needs to be dualled. We would also like to make the point that heavy traffic volumes during peak hours are already recorded on the whole of the A2, in both directions, starting from the exist to the dual carriageway from Lydden to Brenley Corner M2 Junction 7. Brenley Corner M2 Junction both London and coast bound is prone to flash levels of congestion that occur unexpectedly, with the already existing level of traffic flow.

5 Our members have also observed that the whole stretch of the M2 in both directions, from Brenley Corner M2 Junction 7 to the proposed Option C Junction, already experiences heavy existing peak hour congestion. M2 Junctions Our members report that the A249 Sittingbourne - M2 Junction 5 records heavy congestion at peak times, and there is existing peak hour heavy congestion at the A249 Detling Hill Maidstone M20 Junction 7, with daily standing traffic minutes delay. Essex Side As this part of the route will be predominantly new with a free flow both off and on to the M25, I can see no issues of concern. General Observations We would like to enquire why the A20 M20 exit from the port was updated to improve the free flow of traffic straight onto a motorway link, only to shift it all onto an antiquated section of road with many obstacles (roundabouts & traffic lights)? We would also like to ask why has the M20 - A229 transit route option been downgraded/ruled out? Regarding inbound traffic coming down Jubilee Way which is sometimes held back to the port access due to volume of traffic from both the A2 and A20, our members are concerned at how safe the aging concrete structure is, considering a nose to tail queue of 44 tonne vehicles. 12 We would welcome any other comments you may have on our proposals Truck parking is important and we would like to see some of the land used to develop a truck park in the vicinity of Cobham/Gravesend. We see trucks being moved on night after night, due to lack of parking facilities in this area. Please see also the observations and comments made at question 11 above. 13 How did you hear about the consultation? (Please select all that apply) Other online/website source(s)

6 14 Do you have any feedback on this consultation events, information provided, advertising, etc.? N/A Sent online March 2016