A closure of the southbound Blackwall Tunnel is happening this weekend, and we’ve rounded up everything you need to know.
The weekend closures will start at 12.01am on Saturday, August 17, with southbound traffic being restored by 5am on the Monday morning.
TfL has confirmed that the closure is to support the support the opening of the new Silvertown Tunnel and will allow for the final road configuration to be implemented, as well as road resurfacing and safety barrier works to be carried out.
Across the weekend, 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.
Another closure at the Blackwall Tunnel is scheduled from September 7 to September 9 to support the opening of the new Silvertown Tunnel.
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 tunnel linking Silvertown in east London to the Greenwich Peninsula aims to reduce journey times and help manage air pollution.
It will also support 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.
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.
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.
TfL has advised customers 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 12.01am 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.
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.”
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