Plans for a new Thames crossing connecting Kent and Essex could force lorry drivers onto residential roads because there is no service station included in the scheme, MPs have warned.
The 14-mile Lower Thames Crossing, designed to link the A2 near Gravesend with the A13 in Thurrock and the M25 near Upminster, currently does not include a dedicated rest area for commercial drivers.
Concerns were raised in the House of Commons on Thursday by Transport Committee chair Ruth Cadbury during a debate on the Highways (Financing) Bill.
Ms Cadbury said: "Hauliers need somewhere to stop and sleep in a place where they and their load are safe.
"But under the current plans, drivers who need to take a rest would have to go and find an A-road layby – no toilets, no food, no safety."
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She warned that this "national policy gap" could force drivers off the dual carriageway and into nearby towns and residential areas in search of somewhere to park and rest.
Early plans for the crossing included a service area, but this was later dropped.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has said there is "no requirement" to include one.
Thurrock MP Jen Craft raised similar concerns during the debate, warning that the lack of facilities would worsen existing problems with lorry parking.
Ms Craft said: "We already have significant issues with lorry drivers parking in inappropriate places on roads that are not built for that to get the rest that they need because they can’t get into a service station."
She asked whether the crossing, without a rest area, could "exacerbate this issue".
Ms Cadbury agreed, saying: "I absolutely do believe that it will exacerbate the issue because the Lower Thames Crossing is going to significantly increase vehicle throughput, in particular trucks and lorries, on that part of the network, which is already a busy network anyway."
She said the removal of the service area highlighted a wider policy problem.
Ms Cadbury said: "The originally proposed (service area) or truck stop has been removed from the plans.
"I’m told there’s no plan and there’s 'no requirement' to bring one back – and this illustrates a national policy gap."
She suggested that a private landowner could apply to build a rest area nearby, if planning permission could be secured.
Justin Madders, the roads minister, told MPs that the new crossing was a key reason for introducing the Highways (Financing) Bill.
Mr Madders said: "It is no secret that our desire to push forward with this legislation stems from the Lower Thames Crossing.
"The Lower Thames Crossing will almost double road capacity across the Thames to the east of London – it will improve journey times and it will tackle chronic congestion at Dartford, which is bursting at the seams."
He said the Bill was not about the design of the crossing, but rather about creating a financial framework to enable its delivery and similar future projects.
Ms Cadbury warned that traffic problems could return soon after the crossing opens unless wider transport changes are made.
She said: "For a few years after it opens, how long will it be until the toll payers, instead of paying to cross to the other side of the Thames, will be effectively paying to park on the approach road?"
She called for a "transport strategy that supports a modal shift" and said alternatives to road travel should be encouraged.
Ms Cadbury said: "If our roads are not to ground to a halt, then I really look forward to a policy that will incentivise alternative travel options so that road space is available for those journeys for which there can never be a choice."
Ms Craft recommended using a portion of toll revenue from the crossing to subsidise a river ferry service between Kent and Essex.
She said: "A very, very small proportion of a toll that is made on the Lower Thames Crossing" could help fund a "quick 10-minute hop across the water" and reduce the need for longer road journeys.
The former Gravesend-Tilbury Ferry service, which provided a direct crossing between the two counties, ended in 2024.
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