A206 Thames Road Improvement

Project Background

Introduction
London Borough of Bexley is currently upgrading the 1.8km long A206 Thames Road to a dual carriageway, thereby completing the dualling of the South Thames Development Route (STDR) within the M25. The STDR serves the employment areas in the north of the borough and the surrounding region. Because of its importance in protecting existing jobs and stimulating new local employment, it is London Borough of Bexley's highest priority road scheme. It is estimated that dualling Thames Road would be critical to securing almost 6000 jobs in the borough and safeguarding many more. On 28 August 2007 the project was substantially completed. The completed section is 1.5 km long from the Perry Street Roundabout to the Crayside Industrial Estate.

History
During the first week of March 2004, Transport for London and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister announced that they will fully fund the scheme. Transport for London said that it will pay for half of the project, as a match funding for the other half which is already committed by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister as part of its action plan for sustainable communities.

A public inquiry into the Council's proposals to compulsory purchase the land required to upgrade Thames Road, Crayford, to a dual carriageway and to make associated side roads order, was held in December 2003. The Secretary of State for Transport on 29th April 2004 confirmed with modifications the above-mentioned orders.

[Photo of the Crayford Mill Railway Bridge]

The Crayford Mill Railway Bridge is a key feature of the scheme. The existing bridge (above) will be replaced with a new one (computer generated image, below) once the design and track possession can be agreed with Network Rail and funding has been secured.

[Artist's impression of the new railway bridge]

The scheme was developed following public consultations in April 2000. The aims of the scheme are:

to reduce greatly traffic congestion on Thames Road and its approaches;
to attract new jobs and retain existing ones;
to reduce traffic in the minor roads around Thames Road;
to improve public safety in the wider area;
to improve the foot/cycle paths and crossing facilities along Thames Road;
to reduce journey times along Thames Road;
to help to increase efficiency of bus services along Thames Road;
to be designed to reduce the impact on, or enhance the quality of, the local environment, where practicable.

The scheme is designed to minimise its impact on local residents and the environment. Soft and hard landscape features will be selected to improve the local environment in areas where that is practicable.

For those directly affected by the scheme, the Land Compensation Act 1973 enables London Borough of Bexley to offer fair compensation including, for residents in qualifying properties, noise insulation in accordance with guidelines laid down in the Noise Insulation Regulations 1975.

Provisional list of properties eligible for noise insulation (PDF file, 62KB)

[Photo of congestion on Thames Road]

The picture above shows typical heavy congestion on Thames Road in 2005.

Around 35,000 vehicles use Thames Road on an average weekday.
Up to 14% of these vehicles are Heavy Goods Vehicles.
These large traffic flows cause delays and long, slow-moving queues along Thames Road and its approaches.
This congestion hinders London Borough of Bexley's ability to attract new employment and retain existing jobs in the north of the borough. Here the Belvedere Employment Area has the second largest area of manufacturing industries in London.

By following the links below, you can view a labelled map showing the changes to Thames Road, and an aerial photo (from 2002) with the changes superimposed.

Thames Road Map and Information (PDF file, 1.24MB - requires Adobe Reader. If you have difficulty viewing this particular map please ensure you have the latest version of the Adobe Reader software)

Thames Road Aerial Photo with Superimposed Changes, revised July 2006 (PDF file, 735KB)

Thames Road Aerial Photo with Superimposed Changes, original design May 2005 (PDF file, 1.43MB)

The links below will take you to the legal notices relating to these Thames Road improvements:

For further information or an update on the scheme, please contact:

The Project Manager,
London Borough of Bexley,
Highways & Amenities,
Bexley Civic Offices,
Broadway,
Bexleyheath,
Kent,
DA6 7LB

Telephone: 020 8294 6880

Email: dimitri.araj@bexley.gov.uk