The Silvertown Tunnel is a road tunnel under construction beneath the River Thames in London, England. It will be built from west Silvertown on the north bank to the Greenwich Peninsula on the south bank. On the southern end it will begin at the same location as the existing Blackwall Tunnel but ends up a mile east of it on the northern side, to the east of the River Lea estuary.
It is being promoted by Transport for London and will be 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 A102Blackwall Tunnel and both tunnels will be tolled when it opens in 2025.
The tunnel will include dedicated lanes for heavy goods vehicles and buses. There will be no pedestrian or cycle access[1][failed verification] but a shuttle bus is being considered for cyclists. All future bus routes that will use the tunnel will be zero emission.[2][failed verification]
Route
The design is for a twin-bore tunnel to connect the A1020 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.[3] Lane 1 will be dedicated to buses and goods vehicles over 7.5t, while lane 2 will be available for all traffic. The proposed tunnel would affect access to Thames Wharf station proposed as part of the Docklands Light Railway's London City Airport extension.[4] The tunnel is intended to reduce congestion through the nearby Blackwall Tunnel.[5]
Cost
In 2012, the cost was stated to be £600m.[6] A consultation in 2015 stated that the cost of construction was estimated to be £1bn.[7] In March 2020, the cost was increased again, to £1.2 billion.[8] Operation, maintenance and financial costs of the tunnel over 25 years is expected to cost another £1bn.[9]
Opposition
The tunnel has been criticised by opponents who fear it will increase levels of traffic, in turn increasing air pollution. Green Party member and councillor Caroline Russell expressed concern that as the cost of the tunnel would be covered by tolling, future mayors of London will want to keep traffic levels high in order to pay this off. The lack of walking or cycling facilities in the tunnel has been criticised. A planned pedestrian and cyclist bridge from Rotherhithe to Canary Wharf, the Rotherhithe crossing, was cancelled in 2019.[10]
Plans submitted in 2019 suggested 19 trees would be removed. However, revised plans submitted in 2021 suggested over 100 trees would be removed to construct the tunnel and access roads.[11]
A report, 'The Silvertown Tunnel is in a hole, so STOP DIGGING', published in 2020, called for the £1.2 billion Silvertown Tunnel project to be cancelled. It claimed it is incompatible with the Greater London Authority’s vision to be carbon neutral by 2030. The report was published by Transport Action Network, Stop the Silvertown Tunnel coalition, Speak Out Woolwich and Extinction Rebellion Greenwich. [12]
Political opposition
Green Party:
Cllr Scott Ainslie, former Green MEP for London and councillor on Lambeth Council.[13]
Jonathan Bartley, former Co-leader of the Green Party and Leader of the Opposition on Lambeth Council.[14]
Cllr Siân Berry, Green Party member of the London Assembly and Leader of the Green Group on Camden Council.[15]
Cllr Caroline Russell, Green Party member on the London Assembly and Leader of the Opposition on Islington Council.[16]
The tunnel is opposed by the 'No to the Silvertown Tunnel' campaign, and more recently the Stop the Silvertown Tunnel Coalition which claims that it would generate more traffic and more congestion, and lead to more air pollution.[31]
In July 2020, Extinction Rebellion protesters locked themselves to a drilling rig, calling on Mayor of LondonSadiq Khan to halt the project amidst environmental concerns.[33] In April 2021, 52 academics and campaigners sent a joint open letter to transport secretaryGrant Shapps and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan seeking an "emergency review" of the proposed tunnel's environmental impact.[34]
History
It was proposed that the project should be reviewed in 2006 following the completion of the Thames Gateway Bridge.[35] The then London Mayor, Ken Livingstone, supported the scheme in principle and expressed a preference that the link be a road tunnel.[citation needed] The Mayor's Transport Strategy stated that construction of the link would follow the implementation of the subsequently cancelled Thames Gateway Bridge.[36][better source needed]
A public consultation on the Silvertown Tunnel and the Gallions Reach Ferry took place between February and March 2012.[37] A further consultation was conducted from 29 October 2012 to 1 February 2013.[38]
A consultation on tolling both the Silvertown and the Blackwall tunnels opened in October 2014.[39] Following a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project inquiry,[40] the government approved the proposal in May 2018,[41] and the contract was awarded in November 2019 to the Riverlinx consortium.[42]
Construction began in March 2021.[43] The 11.87 m diameter earth pressure balance TBM used was supplied by Herrenknecht and named Jill after Jill Viner, the first female bus driver in London. Tunnel segments were supplied by Banagher Precast Concrete in Ireland.[44] 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.[45][46] Overall construction is due for completion in 2025.[34][47]
Public transport
When Transport for London applied for permission to build the tunnel, it proposed that five bus routes would use it. However, in October 2022 plans for bus routes were revealed with only two routes using the tunnel, with only one route providing stops either side of the river.[48] Route X239 will run an express section between Blackheath (Sun in the Sands) and Blackwall (Leamouth) via the tunnel.[49] The X239 route was later announced as part of the Superloop scheme and is now known as route SL4. Traffic modelling in 2016 was based on around 37 buses per hour using the tunnels during peak times but this was later reduced to 20 buses.[48]
Charges
Charging will begin when the tunnel opens in 2025 and will coincide with the introduction of tolling to the adjacent Blackwall Tunnel. Charges were expected to be similar to the Dartford Crossing.[50] As of June 2023, charges for the Dartford Crossing are £2/£2.50 for cars, depending on method of payment.[51] Signs submitted by TfL for approval, with prices suggested in 2015, appeared to show that vehicles using the tunnel between 6am and 10pm will be charged £4 (cars), £3.50 (motorcycles) or £8.50 (other vehicles) for a single journey.[52] The charges are expected to be agreed in 2024 and the system available for drivers to register.[53] Allowing for inflation, the suggested £4 charge for cars is likely to be £5.25 in 2025.[54] Discounts for residents in Greenwich, Newham and Tower Hamlets were considered in 2015 and rejected. In October 2023 the Mayor of London proposed a discount for low-income residents.[55]
^"River Crossings: Silvertown Tunnel - Supporting technical documentation"(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2014. The proposed northern Silvertown tunnel portal is located close to the site safeguarded for a potential Thames Wharf DLR station and its potential impact on pedestrian access routes to the station needs to be considered
^"Silvertown Link". Archived from the original on 5 July 2007. Retrieved 24 February 2006. A rolling construction programme would see the project team for Thames Gateway Bridge moved straight on to Silvertown Link.
^"River Crossings". The information on this web page relates to a consultation that was undertaken in February/March 2012.
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