The Silvertown Tunnel - what we now know and what we already knew
What we now know: When it'll open
The Silvertown Tunnel will open on Monday 7th April 2025, i.e. in exactly three months time. That's yesterday's genuinely new news. It'll be the first day of the school Easter holidays so traffic should be lighter than usual for the first fortnight. It is possible there'll be a soft launch over the previous weekend, but the big Mayoral ribbon-cutting publicity bonanza will be on the Monday. That'll also be the day the tolls start.
What we already knew: The Silvertown Tunnel will be tolled
This has been baked in since the start of the project in 2012 under Mayor Johnson. The toll is fundamental to the financing of the tunnel's construction, and was also intended to manage demand and reduce congestion. It's no good moaning now about the imposition of tolls, that ship sailed long ago.
What we already knew: Tolls will be introduced on the Blackwall Tunnel on the same day
This has also been baked in since the start of the project in 2012. You can't maintain a free tunnel alongside a tolled tunnel because everyone would use the free one. Tolls will be identical. None of this will be welcomed by existing drivers. It'll be the first toll for using the Blackwall Tunnel since it opened in 1892. The Rotherhithe Tunnel remains untolled.
What we already knew: What those tolls will be Tolls were confirmed last July. They'll be £1.50 for motorbikes, cars and small vans off-peak, rising to £2.50🏍 or £4.00🚗🚚 for a few peak hours on weekdays in one direction only. You'll have to pay online or by app, just like paying for ULEZ or the Congestion Charge - there won't be toll booths. Tolls will not be charged between 10pm and 6am.
What we already knew: the Silvertown Tunnel will be the A1026
This wasn't in yesterday's press release but it's clearly visible on a roadsign at the northern end of the tunnel. Google Streetview shows the sign has been in situ since at least September. They'll have wanted a road number to match the Blackwall Tunnel which is the A102. All the other numbers between A1020 and A1029 have already been taken, but A1026 has been going spare since it was briefly used during the bypassing of Ipswich. A1026 it is then.
What we already knew: Cyclists will have to catch a bus
Cycling through the tunnel will not be permitted for safety reasons. The option of a segregated lane or larger tunnel was ruled out at the design stage as impractically expensive. Instead a specially branded bikes-only bus service is being introduced. A consultation last summer confirmed that buses would run at least every 12 minutes from 0630 to 2130 and be free to use for at least the first year of operation.
What we now know: Where the cycle bus stops will be
The 'north' stop location will be located on Seagull Lane immediately to the south of Royal Victoria DLR station. The 'south' stop will be located on Millennium Way near the junction with Old School Close. Both stops are supposedly optimised for proximity to cycle routes. TfL have also released a map showing the precise route the cycle buses will take, but on a one-stop journey that's as irrelevant as knowing which way the Waterloo & City line goes.
What we already knew: The control tower above the northern portal is quite photogenic
The building has a conical form on a green landscaped plinth with all-round visibility, and sits immediately above the tunnel entrance. The upper floors house work spaces and tunnel management facilities. Yesterday's press release was accompanied by a very nice photo taken looking down out of the window.
What we already knew: The roundabout on the north side is pretty much complete
You'd hope so given it opens in 90 days. It has lane markings, traffic lights, feeder lanes and a lot of plastic barriers waiting to be swept away. It's a very elongated roundabout and the centre is beautifully landscaped with a broad pedestrian walkway swooshing through. This is odd because this is the arse end of the Royal Docks and not especially on the way to anywhere, but one day it'll be on the way to riverside neighbourhoods as yet unbuilt and that's proper forward planning for you. You can't walk across it yet.
What we already knew: Two bus routes will use the Silvertown Tunnel
One will be an extension of the 129 which will continue through the tunnel from North Greenwich, then weave slowly round the Royal Docks to Gallions Wharf. The other will be the remaining Superloop route, the SL4, which will run from Canary Wharf through the tunnel and south to Grove Park. It includes a three mile non-stop express leap from the edge of Docklands to the Sun-in-the-Sands roundabout. Both routes look bafflingly suboptimal but their rationales were fully explained in 2022.
What we now know: Cross-river buses will be free for the first year
Expect free travel on the 129, the SL4 and the existing 108 which uses the Blackwall Tunnel. Previously the proposal was "free trips to support local residents" but that's now been broadened to free rides on all three routes for at least the first year. This seems ridiculously generous. For example it sounds like if you're waiting at Bus Stop M in April intending to go to Stratford, a ride on the 108 will be free but the other three routes will cost you £1.75.
What we now know: Some DLR journeys will be free for everyone too
Specifically one stop cross-river DLR journeys will be free for at least one year, specifically Cutty Sark to Island Gardens and Woolwich Arsenal to King George V. That's not quite so generous because Island Gardens and King George V aren't places a lot of people want to be.
What we already knew: The building above the southern portal is not photogenic
It's low, swirly and grey. It's to be used as a back-up control room. The backside's along Millennium Way. It doesn't look much nicer from down below.
What we already knew: The junction on the south side is pretty much complete
You'd hope so given it opens in 90 days. This one's much harder to see unless you're in a vehicle. It's only marginally landscaped. The original tunnel approach roads have been bent slightly to accommodate the new connection. The on-ramp and off-ramp are currently securely sealed off, as is Tunnel Avenue alongside.
What we already knew: The opening of the Silvertown Tunnel is going to be transformational
What we don't yet know is quite how transformational, but we'll start finding out in three months' time.
