Andy Burnham is off on his travels(开始他的旅程) this week, aiming to reconnect(重新连接) No 10 and the government with voters and communities across the UK. But just weeks before he set out his stall(表明立场) as prime minister, promising to rebalance(重新平衡) the economy with growth in every postcode, a government agency, National Highways, underlined(强调，凸显) the pulling power of the country’s dominant(占主导地位的) city-region. It announced that a giant tunnelling machine(隧道掘进机), 16.4 metres in diameter, “the largest ever used in Europe”, was to take England’s most expensive road under the Thames.
安迪·伯纳姆本周开启巡游之旅，旨在让唐宁街10号和政府重新与英国各地的选民和社区建立联系。但就在他以首相身份表明立场、承诺通过每个邮编区的增长来重新平衡经济的前几周，政府机构“国家公路”却凸显了这个国家主导城市区域的吸引力。该机构宣布，一台直径16.4米、号称“欧洲有史以来最大”的巨型隧道掘进机，将把英格兰最昂贵的公路送入泰晤士河底。
The Lower Thames Crossing (LTC), so far priced at £10bn-£11bn, is proving to be a contested(有争议的) 14.5-mile venture(工程项目，冒险) on the edge of Greater London. Objectors and local councils say it will deliver only short-term congestion relief(缓解拥堵) and destroy ancient woodland and habitats(栖息地). At 2.6 miles, the road tunnel will be the country’s longest, involving twin-boring(双孔掘进) for two three-lane highways connecting the M25 in Essex to the A2/M2 in Kent. The government has so far committed £3.1bn for funding the tunnel. It expects the rest from the private sector. We shall see.(我们拭目以待)
泰晤士河下穿通道（LTC）目前估价在100亿至110亿英镑之间，被证明是大伦敦边缘一项备受争议的14.5英里工程。反对者和地方议会表示，该项目只能带来短期的拥堵缓解，却会破坏古老的林地和栖息地。这条公路隧道长2.6英里，将成为英国最长的公路隧道，需要双孔掘进，建设两条三车道高速公路，连接埃塞克斯的M25和肯特的A2/M2。政府迄今已承诺投入31亿英镑用于隧道建设，其余资金期望来自私营部门。我们拭目以待。
No matter that(尽管，不管) the LTC is, on some estimates(估算), likely to cost more per mile than the HS2(英国高铁二号线) rail link from London to the Midlands, which, as things stand(就目前情况来看), will end illogically(不合逻辑地) at Handsacre junction(交汇处，枢纽) in Staffordshire – instead of connecting to Crewe, a key rail hub linking England, Scotland and Wales.
尽管根据一些估算，LTC 每英里成本可能超过从伦敦到中部的 HS2 铁路线，而后者目前将不合逻辑地止于斯塔福德郡的汉德萨克交汇处，而非连接至连接英格兰、苏格兰和威尔士的重要铁路枢纽克鲁。