Silvertown Tunnel

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Silvertown Tunnel
Essex, Kent

Silvertown Tunnel under construction
Location
Carrying: A1026
Beneath: River Thames
Location
Grid reference: TQ39358039
Location: 51°30’17"N, -0°0’29"E
Structure
Length: 0.9 mile
History
Information
Owned by: Transport for London
Operated by: Riverlinx

The Silvertown Tunnel is a road tunnel, opened on 7 April 2025, beneath the River Thames. It is a twin-bore tunnel nearly a mile long and runs between west Silvertown in Essex, just east of the River Lea estuary, on the north side of the Thames and a portal adjacent to the existing Blackwall Tunnel on the Greenwich Peninsula in Kent on the south bank of the river. It carries the A1026 road.

Promoted by Transport for London, the tunnel was delivered through a design, build, finance and maintain contract by the Riverlinx consortium which was awarded in November 2019. The tunnel is intended to reduce congestion through the A102 Blackwall Tunnel. Both the Silvertown and Blackwall tunnels have been tolled since 7 April 2025. (Charges apply between 06:00 and 22:00; it is free to use overnight.)

The tunnel includes dedicated lanes for heavy goods vehicles and buses. There is no pedestrian or cycle access, although a shuttle bus service is now provided for cyclists.

Route

A twin-bore tunnel connects the A1026 Silvertown Way/Lower Lea Crossing on the north side with the A102 road Blackwall Tunnel Approach on the south side, on an alignment similar to the London cable car.[1] The left hand lane in the tunnel is restricted to only buses and goods vehicles over 7.5t, while the right hand lane is available for all traffic.

The Greenwich portal is located close to the Blackwall Tunnel portals, close to the O2 Arena and North Greenwich tube station. The Silvertown portal is located adjacent to City Hall and the proposed Thames Wharf DLR station. The tunnel is intended to reduce congestion through the nearby Blackwall Tunnel.[2]

History

Background

Downstream east from Tower Bridge, there are only five road crossings of the River Thames – the Rotherhithe Tunnel (opened in 1908), the northbound and southbound bores of the Blackwall Tunnel (opened in 1897 and 1967 respectively), the new Silvertown Tunnel and the Dartford Crossing (western tunnel opened in 1963, the eastern tunnel in 1980 and the bridge in 1991).[3]

Both the Rotherhithe Tunnel and the northbound bore of the Blackwall Tunnel are subject to size and height restrictions, limiting the types of vehicles that can cross the river in this location. The Dartford Crossing is the next downstream crossing of the river and does not have these restrictions, however it is located around 16 miles east of Blackwall – and is highly congested.

The Blackwall Tunnel is also highly congested, carrying around 90,000 vehicles each weekday with around 3,000 per hour at peak times.[4] Delays often occur at Blackwall due to the 13-foot height restriction for northbound journeys.[4] As a consequence, cross-river bus journeys have unreliable journey times, with the bus route often cited as amongst the least reliable in London.[5][6]

Since 1999, major public transport improvements in east London have added cross-river connections, including the Jubilee Line Extension, extensions of the Docklands Light Railway to Lewisham and Woolwich Arsenal and the opening of the Crossrail Project as the Elizabeth line.[7]

Silvertown Crossing

In the 1990s, the Government Office for London undertook feasibility work for an additional river crossing close to the Blackwall Tunnel, as part of development work for the Thames Gateway Bridge. Options considered included a third tunnel at Blackwall, a new crossing at Charlton and a new crossing at Silvertown.Public consultations were conducted from 2012 to 2013.[8]

Procurement and construction

Exploratory boreholes along the site in 2014

In November 2019, the contract was awarded to the Riverlinx consortium.[9]

Construction began in March 2021.[10] Tunnel segments were supplied by Banagher Precast Concrete in Ireland.[11] The southbound tunnel drive was completed on 15 February 2023 to the Greenwich shaft, after which the TBM was turned around for the northbound tunnel drive to be completed on 4 September 2023.[12][13] A replacement pedestrian and cycle bridge at Boord Street was opened in July 2023.[14] The tunnel portals and control buildings were designed by dRMM.[15]

The tunnel opened on 7 April 2025.[16][17]

Protests

The tunnel was opposed by a number of politicians and others during the planning stage, comapning of congestion and disruption. The 'No to the Silvertown Tunnel' campaign the ‘Stop the Silvertown Tunnel Coalition’ claimed that it would generate more traffic and more congestion, and lead to more air pollution.[18]

In 2016 Friends of the Earth lobbyied Tower Hamlets Borough Council to reject the proposal.[19] In July 2020, Extinction Rebellion protesters locked themselves to a drilling rig, demanding a halt to the project. It went ahead anyway.

Outside links

 ("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Silvertown Tunnel)

References

  1. ↑ "Improvements and Projects - Silvertown Tunnel". https://www.tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/silvertown-tunnel. 
  2. ↑ Marshall, Chris (2018-07-26). "The trouble with the Thames". https://www.roads.org.uk/blog/trouble-thames. 
  3. ↑ Jump up to: 4.0 4.1 "Silvertown Tunnel - Case for the Scheme". April 2016. https://content.tfl.gov.uk/silvertown-tunnel-case-for-the-scheme.pdf. 
  4. ↑ Aldridge, John (July 2007). "Tunnel troubles provoke interesting reaction". Buses (Ian Allan Publishing) (628): 21. 
  5. ↑ Marius, Callum (2022-12-22). "'I went on London bus Sadiq Khan says nobody uses and it was busy'". https://www.mylondon.news/news/east-london-news/i-went-london-bus-route-25814909. 
  6. ↑ Dix, Michèle (15 October 2014). "River Crossings in East London". Transport for London. http://content.tfl.gov.uk/st-stakeholder-event-presentation-october-2014.pdf. 
  7. ↑ "Have your say on the proposal for a new tunnel under the Thames at Silvertown - Transport for London - Citizen Space". https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/rivercrossings/silvertown-consultation/. 
  8. ↑ "TfL completes contract with Riverlinx consortium to design, build, finance and maintain Silvertown Tunnel". Transport for London. 25 November 2019. https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2019/november/tfl-completes-contract-with-riverlinx-consortium-to-design-build-finance-and-maintain-silvertown-tunnel. 
  9. ↑ Construction work begins on Sadiq Khan's Silvertown Tunnel 13 March 2021, 853.london, accessed 5 May 2021
  10. ↑ "Silvertown Tunnel - Herrenknecht AG". https://www.herrenknecht.com/en/references/referencesdetail/silvertown-tunnel/. 
  11. ↑ Menteth, Thames (2023-08-04). "Second bore complete on Silvertown Tunnel" (in en). https://www.geplus.co.uk/news/second-bore-complete-on-silvertown-tunnel-04-08-2023/. 
  12. ↑ "Final breakthrough for the Silvertown Tunnel - Herrenknecht AG". https://www.herrenknecht.com/en/newsroom/pressreleasedetail/finaler-durchbruch-fuer-den-silvertown-tunnel/. 
  13. ↑ Smith, J. (2023-07-19). "New Greenwich bridge now open: Are the approaches any better?" (in en-GB). https://www.fromthemurkydepths.co.uk/2023/07/19/new-greenwich-bridge-now-open-but-how-is-area-on-approach/. 
  14. ↑ Williams, Fran (2025-04-07). "Controversial Silvertown Tunnel opens with dRMM entrance buildings" (in en). https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/controversial-silvertown-tunnel-with-drmm-entrance-buildings-opens. 
  15. ↑ "W&F Silvertown Tunnel London". https://www.wf-ib.de/en/projekte/tunnelbau/maschineller-tunnelbau/grossbritannien/projekte/silvertown-tunnel-london/#:~:text=Twin-tube%20road%20tunnel%20under,ramps,%20600%20m%20in%20length. 
  16. ↑ Edwards, Tom (6 January 2025). "Silvertown and Blackwall Tunnel tolls start in April". BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg52jrrgq3go.amp. 
  17. ↑ "No to Silvertown Tunnel". https://silvertowntunnel.co.uk/. 
  18. ↑ "Friends of the Earth urges Mayor John Biggs to fight Silvertown Tunnel". 14 September 2016. https://www.londoncitizen.co.uk/2016/09/14/friends-earth-demands-mayor-john-biggs-fights-silvertown-tunnel/. 


Bridges and crossings on the River Thames
Jubilee Line tunnels Blackwall Tunnel Cable Car Silvertown Tunnel Woolwich Ferry Woolwich Foot Tunnel Woolwich Rail Tunnel
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