Southbound traffic will need to seek alternative routes across the weekend
"The Blackwall Tunnel is used by tens of thousands of vehicles every day and we appreciate that these works will have an impact on some drivers. Having completed works to the southbound carriageway, we are now working with Riverlinx CJV to prepare the northbound carriageway for the new Silvertown Tunnel."
Carl Eddleston
Director of Network Management and Resilience at TfL
  • Closure to southbound tunnel needed to allow TfL and Riverlinx CJV to carry out works at Pear Island on the northbound Blackwall Tunnel approach, which will help reduce congestion while further works to the northbound carriageway are carried out to support the new Silvertown Tunnel
  • Route 108 will be temporarily split and terminate at Canning Town station and North Greenwich, with customers using the Jubilee line to cross the river and complete their journeys refunded if required

Transport for London (TfL) has today advised drivers that the Blackwall Tunnel will be closed to southbound traffic from 00:01 on Saturday 21 October to 05:00 on Monday 23 October to help support works to the northbound carriageway on the northbound Blackwall Tunnel approach.

The works, which follow the successful completion of southbound carriageway works to allow for the final road configuration for the Silvertown Tunnel in 2025, will see changes made to Pear Island on the northbound approach to the Blackwall Tunnel. As part of these works, changes will also be made to the northbound carriageway over the weekend to move where three lanes become two on the approach to the Blackwall Tunnel. This will allow more room for workers as works to the northbound carriageway begin. TfL and Riverlinx are committed to ensuring that two lanes through the northbound Blackwall Tunnel are maintained while further works to complete the realignment of the northbound carriageway are completed.

Across the weekend, the Blackwall Tunnel will be closed for southbound traffic and traffic will be required to take alternative routes. Northbound traffic will not be affected by these closures as traffic will be diverted through the southbound Blackwall Tunnel. However, there will be no access to Tunnel Avenue from the A102 at Pear Island across the weekend due to the works. The northbound on-slip on Blackwall Lane will also be closed and a signed diversion via the Woolwich Flyover roundabout will be in place. 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.

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 weekend where possible.

Carl Eddleston, Director of Network Management and Resilience at TfL, said: "The Blackwall Tunnel is used by tens of thousands of vehicles every day and we appreciate that these works will have an impact on some drivers. Having completed works to the southbound carriageway, we are now working with Riverlinx CJV to prepare the northbound carriageway for the new Silvertown Tunnel. We have worked hard to try and limit the potential disruption these will cause, such as ensuring a northbound route can be maintained throughout these closures. We will also be taking the opportunity to carry out works within and around the tunnel to help deliver future maintenance work more efficiently and ensure it continues to safely operate."

To help inform drivers, 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. TfL will also take the opportunity to carry out works within and around the tunnel, to help deliver future maintenance work more efficiently and ensure the tunnel can continue to safely operate.

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. Customers are advised 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. 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 00:01 on Monday 23 October, 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.

For the latest on how roads are running, please visit: tfl.gov.uk/traffic/status/

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