Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the resilience of the Lower Thames Crossing in the event of a) vehicle breakdowns or b) collisions within the tunnel.

The Lower Thames Crossing will be operated as an integrated part of the Strategic Road Network (SRN). Incident response plans will be developed with local authorities and emergency services during construction and published before opening. These will cover tunnel systems, roadside technology and traffic management across the wider network, consistent with National Highways’ coordinated SRN approach, including the 2021 CLEAR Keep Traffic Moving incident management plan agreed with emergency services. They will work with key responders to minimise incident impacts through an integrated and coordinated approach across the SRN, which will also apply to the Lower Thames Crossing.

Drivers would be informed of closures through signs and signals across the wider network and through channels such as sat nav, in-car systems, social media, press and radio, supporting informed journey decisions.