Alina Tuerk at TfL, ‘Following five years of construction and rigorous testing of systems, we can now set out a planned opening date for the Silvertown Tunnel as 7 April 2025. The new tunnel, along with the initial user charges, discounts and exemptions, will support growth in the local area and provide new public transport and freight connections across the river. These measures will also help manage traffic demand as well as the environmental impacts, and ensure the new tunnel delivers on its objectives of reducing traffic congestion and providing resilience at the Blackwall Tunnel, while ensuring we support local residents on low income, small businesses, sole traders and local charities.
To help manage traffic levels across the Silvertown and Blackwall tunnels, repay costs for building the new Silvertown Tunnel, and cover ongoing maintenance and operation costs at both tunnels, a user charge will be introduced on 7 April 2025 and will operate between 06:00 and 22:00, seven days a week. The proximity of the two tunnels has meant that, ever since the plans were first conceived, both need to be charged to ensure that traffic levels do not increase as a result of drivers seeking to use the uncharged crossing.
We have addressed 4.25t ev vans to fit in the regular van weight charge.
Detailing the construction. ‘Throughout the construction of the new tunnel, which began in 2021, more than 1,860,000 tonnes of material have been transported to and from the site via river rather than using roads – helping to remove around 110,000 lorry trips from local roads around the construction site. The tunnel boring machine, Jill (named after Jill Viner – London’s first female bus driver), was also innovatively turned around within the rotation chamber in Greenwich to then bore the second tunnel back towards Newham – a UK engineering first. As a project, the Silvertown Tunnel has also enabled more than 120 apprenticeships across the supply chain, as well as supported the hiring of more than 90 people who were previously unemployed and offered more than 1,500 days in placements for the next generation of engineers.’
