ACE’s Mike Llewelyn-Jones and Tim Healey have told MPs that strategic river crossings should be planned against demand 30 years in the future, not 15.

The Transport Select Committee quizzed Healy and Llewelyn-Jones about the intricacies of building strategic river crossings after ACE submitted evidence to a review of river crossings last June. As chairs of ACE’s Road Sector Interest Group, Healey and Llewelyn-Jones argued government should adopt an even longer-term approach to delivering infrastructure.

“We want to see a vision of what the transport map of the UK will look like in 2050,” said Healey. “The National Infrastructure Plan is a good start, but does not go far enough in setting this vision.”

The demand for new river crossings in the UK has been on the agenda in recent months with three slated for construction east of Tower Bridge in London. The Transport Select Committee has since launched an inquiry to judge the economic merits of building new crossings.