Thames Gateway Bridge

The Thames Gateway Bridge is a proposed new crossing of the River Thames in East London.

It is proposed to be built by 2013 and will connect Beckton in the London Borough of Newham with Thamesmead in the London Borough of Greenwich. It will connect the A406 / A13 junction in Beckton with the A2016 Eastern Way and Western Way in Thamesmead and serve the new Thames Gateway development.

The bridge will have a span of about 650 metres, with a 50 metre vertical clearance for ships, yet be low enough not to impede the flight approach to the nearby London City Airport. The bridge will have four lanes for general traffic and two lanes for public transport use. It would also have a cycle lane, a pedestrian walkway and the facility for a Docklands Light Rail crossing.

The design and location is roughly similar to the East London River Crossing proposed and approved by two public enquiries during the 1970s-90s but subsequently dropped by the Department for Transportcite web
last =Stewart
first =John
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =A Road Can be Stopped!
work =
publisher =Road Block
date =2005-05
url =http://www.roadblock.org.uk/resources/roadsvictories.pdf
format =
doi =
accessdate =2007-05-14] .

Applications for the current scheme were submitted to the London Borough of Newham, London Borough of Greenwich and the government in 2004. A public inquiry on the scheme sat at Charlton Athletic Football Club from June 2005 to May 2006. Following the submission of the Planning Inspectors's report on the inquiry to central government, the decisions on the future of the bridge have been deferred until further evidence is considered at a reopened public inquiry. [cite news| url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/networkandservices/thamesgateway/2203.aspx| title=Thames Gateway Bridge| publisher=Transport for London| accessdate=2007-09-04]

It was reported on 5th June, 2008 that London Mayor, Boris Johnson, intends to scrap plans for the Thames Gateway Bridge. [ [http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/topstories/display.var.2321495.0.boris_scraps_gateway_bridge_plans.php News Shopper - Boris scraps Gateway Bridge plans] ]

Location

This annotated satellite photograph shows the location of the proposed bridge, the nearest upstream and downstream road crossings and nearby towns and areas of interest.

Sources

* [http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/downloads/pdf/thames-gateway-bridge/TGBBoard-mar-2004.pdf TfL Board paper on the bridge] (Adobe PDF)
* [http://www.persona.uk.com/thamesgateway/ Public Inquiry website for Thames Gateway Bridge]

External links

* [http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/networkandservices/2197.aspx Thames Gateway Bridge project website] , from Transport for London
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4102345.stm Thames bridge gets vital backing] , from BBC News Online