 Southern entrance to the Victorian bore | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Location | Blackwall / Greenwich |
| Coordinates | 51°30′16″N 00°00′11″W / 51.50444°N 0.00306°W |
| Status | Open |
| Route |  A102 road |
| Start | London Borough of Tower Hamlets |
| End | Royal Borough of Greenwich |
| Operation | |
| Constructed | 1892–1897 (western bore) 1960–1967 (eastern bore) |
| Opened | 22 May 1897 (western bore) 2 August 1967 (eastern bore) |
| Owner | Transport for London |
| Traffic | Automotive |
| Character | Limited-access highway (since May 1969[1]) |
| Technical | |
| Length | 1,350 m (4,430 ft) (western bore) 1,174 m (3,852 ft) (eastern bore)[2] |
| No. of lanes | 2 per bore (4 in total) |
| Operating speed | up to 30 mph (48 km/h)[3] |
The Blackwall Tunnel is a pair of road tunnels underneath the River Thames in east London, England, linking the London Borough of Tower Hamlets with the Royal Borough of Greenwich, and part of the A102 road. The northern portal lies just south of the East India Dock Road (A13) in Blackwall[a]; the southern entrances are just south of The O2 on the Greenwich Peninsula.[b] The road is managed by Transport for London (TfL).
The tunnel was originally opened as a single bore in 1897 by the Prince of Wales as a major transport project to improve commerce and trade in London's East End. It carried a mix of foot, cycle, horse-drawn and vehicular traffic. By the 1930s, capacity was becoming inadequate. A second bore opened in 1967 to relieve congestion, handling southbound traffic while the earlier 19th century tunnel handled northbound traffic.
The northern approach takes traffic from the A12 and the southern approach takes traffic from the A2, making the tunnel crossing a key link for both local and longer-distance traffic between the north and south sides of the river. It forms part of a key route into Central London from South East London and Kent and was the easternmost all-day crossing for vehicles before the opening of the Dartford Tunnel in 1963.
It remains the easternmost free fixed road crossing of the Thames, and regularly suffers congestion, to the extent that tidal flow schemes were in place from 1978 until their controversial removal in 2007. Given the very high traffic volumes at the crossing (and the height restrictions of the Victorian bore) the crossing is being supplemented by the Silvertown Tunnel, currently under construction. When the Silvertown Tunnel is completed in 2025, both it and the Blackwall Tunnels will be tolled.[4]
The tunnels are no longer open to pedestrians, cyclists or other non-motorised traffic,[1] and the northbound tunnel has a 4.0-metre (13.1 ft) height limit. The London Buses route 108 between Lewisham and Stratford runs through the tunnels.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
pedbanwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "The Road Tunnel Operator Association – Participants". The Road Tunnel Operator Association. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
- ^ "Blackwall Tunnel Traffic, Information Section". London Traffic. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
- ^ "Improvements and Projects—Silvertown Tunnel". Transport for London. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
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