A weekend closure of the southbound Blackwall Tunnel on the 7-9 September is required to support the opening of the new Silvertown Tunnel, Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed.
The closure is in addition to the planned southbound closure across the weekend of 17-19 August. This will allow for the final road configuration to be implemented, as well as road resurfacing and safety barrier works to be carried out. TfL will also take the opportunity to carry out works within and around the Blackwall Tunnel to help deliver future maintenance work more efficiently and ensure the tunnel can continue to safely operate.
Plans for the Silvertown Tunnel were first developed in 2012 to help address the chronic congestion east London residents and businesses currently face around the Blackwall Tunnel. The Victorian-era tunnel suffers from frequent closures – more than 700 times a year – which results in large tailbacks, poor air quality and millions of hours lost due to drivers being trapped in traffic. The new modern tunnel linking Silvertown in east London to the Greenwich Peninsula will reduce journey times and help manage air pollution. It will also support economic growth and allow TfL to increase the number of buses able to cross the river in this area from five to 21 buses an hour in each direction during the busiest times between 07:00 to 19:00 Monday to Friday – all of which will be zero emission at the tailpipe.
Across the weekends, the Blackwall Tunnel will be closed for southbound traffic and drivers will need to take alternative routes. Northbound traffic will not be affected by these closures as traffic will be diverted through the southbound Blackwall Tunnel when required. The weekend closures will start at 00:01 on the Saturday morning, with southbound traffic being restored by 05:00 on the Monday morning at the latest. Further information about the closures can be found at tfl.gov.uk/blackwall-tunnel
Drivers are advised to plan their routes in advance, checking before they travel so they can consider any other potential traffic impacts or restrictions, such as the height and weight limits at Rotherhithe Tunnel and Tower Bridge, both of which are outside the Congestion Charge zone. Roads and alternative river crossings in east and central London are expected to be extremely busy with traffic around Rotherhithe Tunnel and along the A13 Commercial Road between Canning Town and Whitechapel heavier than normal over the weekends due to the closures. The Woolwich Ferry, which now departs every fifteen minutes, seven days a week, will be in operation across the weekends. Where possible, people should consider using public transport or walking and cycling via other river crossings to complete their journey.
Drivers of HGVs, as well as vans more than two metres in height or weighing more than two tonnes, are advised to consider routes away from central London across the weekends where possible. To help inform drivers of the works, additional variable messaging signs will be placed on the main roads approaching the Blackwall Tunnel. TfL has also worked with third party app providers, such as Waze, to help ensure drivers who regularly use the Blackwall Tunnel are alerted to the southbound closure and that the closure is shown in any route-planning over the weekend.
The route 108, the only bus route that operates through the Blackwall Tunnel, will be split in two, operating between both Lewisham and North Greenwich and between Canning Town and Stratford. Customers are advised to then change onto the Jubilee line to cross the river to complete their journeys. TfL will also ensure that customers of the route 108 who then use the Jubilee line as part of their journey over the weekend will avoid being charged for the Tube section of their journey via an automatic refund which will be processed after the weekend. The Mayor’s Hopper fare will also mean that customers won’t be charged for any additional bus journeys on the other side of the river, providing they begin within an hour of touching in on the first bus. From 00:01 on the Monday mornings of the closure, northbound buses will return to their normal route and southbound buses will be diverted via Tower Bridge until the tunnel is re-opened to southbound traffic.
Work on delivering the new Silvertown Tunnel, which will open in 2025, continues to progress well. Both of the 1.1km tunnels have been fully tunnelled and safety critical equipment now being installed. The final road surface is being installed within the tunnels and approach roads, which will allow for critical testing and assurance work to take place ahead of opening. Work is also nearing completion on the new road layout around Tidal Basin Roundabout in Newham. This roundabout has been redesigned to cater for the new tunnel, and by the end of September new walking and cycling paths around the route will be open to the public, making it easier for people accessing the Royal Docks via the Lower Lea Crossing.
Nick Fairholme, Director of Capital Delivery – Systems at TfL, said: “We are now in the final phase of works to complete the Silvertown Tunnel and these closures will help us to start to get the tunnel ready to open. We appreciate that these planned weekend works will have an impact on some drivers and are doing everything we can to limit potential disruption – including ensuring a northbound route through the Blackwall Tunnel is maintained throughout.”
TfL’s public consultation on a green and fair package of concessions and discounts to support Londoners and businesses when the Silvertown tunnel opens in 2025 also remains open. The consultation, which closes on 3 September 2024, will enable TfL to ensure the user charge and range of discounts, both of which will be subject to the approval of the TfL Board, have been informed by feedback from the public.
Tunnel user charges – required as part of the development consent for the new tunnel and first proposed in 2012 – will be introduced for using the Silvertown and Blackwall Tunnels between 06:00 and 22:00, seven days a week once the new Silvertown Tunnel opens. The proximity of the two tunnels means that both need to be charged to ensure that traffic levels do not increase as a result of drivers seeking to use the uncharged crossing. It is proposed that the standard off-peak rate of £1.50 for cars, motorbikes and small vans would apply the majority of the time for vehicles registered for TfL AutoPay. To manage traffic during the busiest times, peak charges will apply. It is proposed that peak charges will be £1 more than standard off-peak charges for motorbikes and an extra £2.50 for cars and small vans, and will apply for four hours northbound in the morning (from 06:00 to 10:00) and three hours southbound in the evening (from 16:00 to 19:00), Monday to Friday.
To help residents and businesses, and to support people to use new public transport connections, a package of green and fair measures – including a wide range of concessions and discounts – is being proposed by TfL. These include reimbursement of tunnel charges for NHS staff and patients eligible through the NHS reimbursement scheme, a 50 per cent discount for low-income drivers in 12 east and south-east London boroughs and the City of London, as well as a £1 discount on the standard off-peak charge for at least one year for small businesses, sole traders and charities registered in Tower Hamlets, Newham and Greenwich.
Bus journeys made on three cross-river routes which start in Newham, Tower Hamlets and Greenwich, as well as cross-river journeys on the DLR from Cutty Sark to Island Gardens, and from Woolwich Arsenal to King George V will also be free for at least one year. This will support local residents and help encourage people to cross the Thames by public transport. The previously announced ‘cycle shuttle’ service, which TfL consulted on in Summer 2023, will allow people with bikes to safely cross the river via a high frequency bus service for cyclists around Silvertown and North Greenwich. This service would be free to use for at least the first year. The consultation can be viewed at tfl.gov.uk/TC-yourview
