Further weekend Blackwall tunnel closures announced for spring and summer
Transport for London have announced four further weekend closures of the Blackwall tunnel southbound.
Dates that traffic will be prevented from using the tunnel are 18 – 20 May, 1 – 3 June, 8 – 10 June and 29 June – 1 July.
The closures are again for Silvertown tunnel work. Earlier I put up a new post showing how construction is shaping up.
Transport for London’s press release on this handily includes some shots inside the tunnel as well as the tunnel portal entrance.
They state work will be undertaken “including resurfacing roads and pavements on the tunnel approaches, installing safety barriers, work to retaining walls and carrying out landscaping”.
Bus route 108 is again split in two running between Lewisham and North Greenwich and Canning Town to Stratford.
There’s the usual lines about alleviating congestion heading to the Blackwall tunnel but no mention that two tunnel’s worth of traffic will meet on the same road network south of the Thames at Greenwich.
Congestion concerns
That brings the risk of greater congestion some including distance from Greenwich peninsula along the A2 and A102 from Eltham back through Kidbrooke and Blackheath where traffic from the existing solitary tunnel already backs up each afternoon. Feed another tunnel’s worth of traffic onto it and we have a problem.
In recent weeks a planning application has been submitted near where both tunnel’s traffic will meet which includes 352 residential units plus 340 student accommodation bedrooms as well as a self-storage unit.
A hotel tower has also been approved next to the site.
Nick Fairholme, Director of Capital Delivery – Systems at TfL said: “We are getting closer to the opening of the new Silvertown Tunnel and appreciate that these planned weekend works will have an impact on some drivers. We are doing everything in our power to limit potential disruption and complete these essential works as quickly as possible, including ensuring a northbound route through the Blackwall Tunnel is maintained throughout.”
The tunnel is curved? For some reason I expected it to be completely straight as such a big deal was made about curves in the existing tunnel. I realise the lanes and curves wont be as narrow and sharp. I’m guessing the speed limit will be 20 mph.
The road layout looks a recipe for congestion looking at the image. You’ll have some traffic exiting the Blackwall tunnel wanting to cross two lanes of traffic to exit the slip road onto Greenwich especially during events at the o2. Then two lanes of Silvertown traffic with some probably changing to the lanes on the right to bypass traffic exiting. That looks as though it will cause tailbacks before even considering the overall traffic levels will be higher in years and decades to come.
The Silvertown tunnel and the Blackwall tunnel will both be tolled once Silvertown is open.
What proposals do TfL and Greenwich Council have to manage the extra traffic likely to divert through Greenwich Town Centre to avoid the tolls until they get to the toll free Rotherhithe Tunnel ?