«Breaking News» Work on £6billion Thames tunnel is delayed by beluga whale in the river

Work on a £6bn tunnel under the River Thames has been held up - because of a rare whale.

Highways England want to build a 2.3 mile tunnel between Essex and Kent to cut congestion and need to do tests and surveys ahead of submitting a planning application.

But project directors have admitted that the presence of Benny the Beluga has meant they've had to increase the time allocated for their underwater tests.

In a bid not to disturb the rare white whale, their tests had to be 'phased', holding up engineers doing environmental tests.

Benny the beluga whale was first spotted in the Thames in September and surfaced again near Gravesend last week

Benny has surprised Londoners and environmentalists by staying in British estuarial waters for three months - and he isn't showing any sign of leaving.

The plan for the massive infrastructure project should double the amount of traffic that can cross the London river

Benny was first spotted in the Thames in September, and last week he surfaced again, near Gravesend in Kent.

A Highways England spokesman said: 'Benny the Beluga is not holding up progress on the Lower Thames Crossing. The protection of wildlife and their habitats is an important priority for us. 

'We phased our testing work to ensure we did not disturb Benny and that testing is now complete. He is very unlikely to have any impact on main construction as the tunnel entrances will be a fair distance away from the Thames itself.' 

Tim Jones, Highways England project director, added: 'The preparation of the development consent order (a very large planning application) will take a while.

'There is a combination of risks and the resulting management of them becomes a project in its own right.

'One of the biggest risks and challenges is air quality and managing the impact on the local community.

'We even have a whale swimming across the River Thames.'

The Dartford crossing (pictured) suffers from severe congestion but the planned tunnel will alleviate some of the weight of traffic

Highways England is in the planning stages of building the tunnel, which would be called the Lower Thames Crossing.

First proposed last year, it will run from the M25 near North Ockendon, cross the A13 at Orsett before crossing under the Thames east of Tilbury and Gravesend.

The crossing is expected to carry 4.5 million heavy goods vehicles a year.

Experts are in the middle of putting together a development consent order and are undertaking various biodiversity and environmental tests.

Belugas, which can grow up to 5.5m, spend most of their time off the coasts of Alaska, Canada and Russia, though they often travel great distances in search of food.

Before Benny, the last sighting of beluga whales in UK waters was in 2015 when they were spotted off the Northumberland coastline, but they left shortly afterwards.

But Benny has surprised locals and environmentalists by hanging around for three months - and he isn't showing any sign of leaving.

There has not been a beluga sighting in the Thames since 1913.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, said: 'The Lower Thames Crossing will further strengthen our economy and create thousands of new jobs.

'The scheme will make the lives of millions of motorists better.'

Work on the Tunnel is expected to begin in October 2021 and completed by 2027.

Link hienalouca.com

https://hienalouca.com/2018/12/20/work-on-6billion-thames-tunnel-is-delayed-by-beluga-whale-in-the-river/
Main photo article Work on a £6bn tunnel under the River Thames has been held up – because of a rare whale.
Highways England want to build a 2.3 mile tunnel between Essex and Kent to cut congestion and need to do tests and surveys ahead of submitting a planning application.
But project directors have ...

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Dianne Reeves Online news HienaLouca





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