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.
^ abCite error: The named reference pedban was 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.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
The BlackwallTunnel is a pair of road tunnels underneath the River Thames in east London, England, linking the London Borough of Tower Hamlets with the...
by the Riverlinx consortium. The tunnel is intended to reduce congestion through the BlackwallTunnel and both tunnels will be tolled when it opens in...
the Millennium Dome), the southern end of the BlackwallTunnel and the western end of the Silvertown Tunnel, but the area is now being substantially redeveloped...
[citation needed] The Silvertown Tunnel is a new Thames river crossing proposed to supplement the existing BlackwallTunnel, which will join the Greenwich...
Overground for the East London Line. Following the success of the BlackwallTunnel, opened in 1897, the London County Council (LCC) decided to construct...
vehicle crossings to the west of Dartford are the Woolwich Ferry and the BlackwallTunnel, both well within East London. When the bridge is closed in high winds...
An underwater tunnel is a tunnel which is partly or wholly constructed under the sea or a river. They are often used where building a bridge or operating...
BlackwallTunnel about two miles (3 km) upstream to the west, or the Dartford Crossing around ten miles (16 km) downstream to the east. Both tunnels have...
Go-Ahead London. An unusual feature of the route is its use of the BlackwallTunnel, a source of severe delays which leads to the route often being cited...
Balfron Tower, the designation of the BlackwallTunnel Approach reverts to the A102 through the BlackwallTunnels and under the River Thames to Greenwich...
the Greenwich foot tunnel, and Island Gardens park was laid out in 1895, providing views across the river. The London and Blackwall Railway closed in 1926...
crossing of a roundabout close to the line of the twin tunnels of the BlackwallTunnel. The tunnel has a 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) speed limit, enforced...
and Canary Wharf, while to the east is Robin Hood Lane and the A102 BlackwallTunnel Northern Approach Road. In 1885, the insanitary back-to-back slums...
few tunnels at that time that were not used by rail traffic; the most notable of these non-rail tunnels, the BlackwallTunnel and Rotherhithe Tunnel in...
Two road tunnels were built in East London at the end of the 19th century, the BlackwallTunnel and the Rotherhithe Tunnel; and the latest tunnel is the...
after working for Pearson on tunnels in New York City, became the contractor's agent on construction of the BlackwallTunnel under the River Thames in London...
chance meeting while in his late teens. When his car broke down in the BlackwallTunnel, he abandoned it and went to buy a replacement from an associate named...
body and Chris Lambrianou and Bender followed behind. Crossing the Blackwalltunnel, Chris lost Tony's car and spent up to 15 minutes looking around Rotherhithe...
Road tunnels were built in East London at the end of the 19th century, being the BlackwallTunnel and the Rotherhithe Tunnel. The latest tunnels are the...
Hill to Southwark and Bermondsey) Rotherhithe Tunnel (the A13 at Limehouse to Canada Water) BlackwallTunnel (the A12 and A13 at Poplar to Greenwich) The...
designed by the architect Anthony Salvin. London Buses route 15 east to Blackwall and west to Trafalgar Square runs along Tower Hill. Tower Hill tube station...
congestion charging zone to charge vehicles that use the BlackwallTunnel or the BlackwallTunnel Approach Road. But if Greenwich wishes to do so on any...
caused several roads to be renumbered in London, including the A102(M) BlackwallTunnel (to A102), the A40(M) Westway (to A40) and the M41 West Cross Route...
Global Information
A102 road