The Silvertown Tunnel is a road tunnel under construction beneath the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

between the

Greenwich Peninsula The Greenwich Peninsula is an area of Greenwich in South London, South East London, England. It is bounded on three sides by a loop of the River Thames, Thames, between the Isle of Dogs to the west and Silvertown to the east. To the south is the ...

and west

Silvertown Silvertown is a district in the London Borough of Newham, in east London, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, Thames and was historically part of the parishes of West Ham and East Ham, Becontree Hundred, hundred of Becontr ...

. It is being promoted by Transport for London and will be delivered through a design, build, finance and maintain contract by the Riverlinx consortium. The tunnel is intended to reduce congestion through the

Blackwall Tunnel 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 ...

and both tunnels will be tolled when it opens in 2025. The contract for construction was awarded in November 2019. The tunnel will include dedicated lanes for heavy goods vehicles and buses, but it will not be accessible to walkers or cyclists. All future bus routes that will use the tunnel will be zero emission.

Route

The design is for a twin-bore tunnel to connect the A1020 Silvertown Way/Lower Lea Crossing on the north side with the

A102 road A1, A-1, A01 or A.1. may refer to: Education * A1, the Basic Language Certificate of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages * Language A1, the former name for "Language A: literature", one of the IB Group 1 subjects * A1, a ...

Blackwall Tunnel Approach on the south side, on an alignment similar to the Emirates Air Line cable car. Lane 1 will be dedicated to buses and goods vehicles over 7.5t, while lane 2 will be available for all traffic. The proposed tunnel would affect access to Thames Wharf station proposed as part of the

Docklands Light Railway The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is an automated light metro system serving the redeveloped Docklands area of London, England and provides a direct connection between London's two major financial districts, Canary Wharf and the City of Londo ...

London City Airport London City Airport is a regional airport in London, England. It is located in the Royal Docks in the Borough of Newham, approximately east of the City of London and east of Canary Wharf. These are the twin centres of London's financial ...

extension.

Cost

In 2012, the cost was stated to be £600m. A consultation in 2015 stated that the cost of construction was estimated to be £1bn. In March 2020, the cost was increased again, to £1.2 billion. Operation and maintenance of the tunnel over 25 years is expected to cost another £1bn.

Opposition

The tunnel has been criticised by opponents who fear it will increase levels of traffic, in turn increasing air pollution. Green Party member and councillor

Caroline Russell Caroline Russell, Lady Keating (born 10 August 1962) is a British politician and activist serving as Leader of the Green Party in the London Assembly since October 2018, and a Member of the London Assembly (AM) for Londonwide since May 2016. ...

expressed concern that as the cost of the tunnel would be covered by tolling, future mayors of London will want to keep traffic levels high in order to pay this off. The lack of walking or cycling facilities in the tunnel has been criticised. A planned pedestrian and cyclist bridge from Rotherhithe to Canary Wharf, the Rotherhithe crossing, was cancelled in 2019. Plans submitted in 2019 suggested 19 trees would be removed. However, revised plans submitted in 2021 suggested over 100 trees would be removed to construct the tunnel and access roads.

Political opposition

Green Party: *Cllr

Scott Ainslie Scott John Ainslie (born 27 December 1968) is a British politician and actor. He was elected as a Green Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for London in the 2019 European parliamentary election. He held this role until the United K ...

, former Green MEP for London and councillor on Lambeth Council. *

Jonathan Bartley Jonathan Charles Bartley (born 16 October 1971) is a British politician and was Co-Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, a position he shared with Caroline Lucas and then, from 4 September 2018, with Siân Berry. He was the Green Par ...

, former Co-leader of the Green Party and Leader of the Opposition on Lambeth Council. *Cllr

Siân Berry Siân Rebecca Berry (born 9 July 1974) is a British politician who served as Co-Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales alongside Jonathan Bartley from 2018 to 2021, and as its sole leader from July to October 2021. From 2006 to 2007, s ...

, Green Party member of the London Assembly and Leader of the Green Group on Camden Council. *Cllr

, Green Party member on the London Assembly and Leader of the Opposition on Islington Council. *

Zack Polanski Zack Polanski (born 1982) is the deputy leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, having served in the role since 7 September 2022. He has been a Londonwide member of the London Assembly (AM) for the party since May 2021. Polanski is also ...

, Green Party member of the London Assembly. Conservative Party: *

Andrew Boff Andrew Boff (born 14 April 1958) is a British politician who has been Deputy Chair of the London Assembly since May 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served a London-wide Assembly Member (AM) since the 2008 election. Boff served ...

, former Conservative Group leader and Chairman of the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject ...

. *

Zac Goldsmith Frank Zacharias Robin Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith of Richmond Park, (born 20 January 1975) is a British politician, life peer and journalist serving as Minister of State for Overseas Territories, Commonwealth, Energy, Climate and Environment si ...

, former Conservative MP for Richmond Park and North Kingston, candidate for Mayor of London and Member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. Liberal Democrats: *

Siobhan Benita Siobhan Benita (' Pook; born 11 October 1971) is a British former civil servant. She was an independent candidate in the 2012 London mayoral election. She was then the Liberal Democrat candidate in the London mayoral election originally plan ...

, former Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London * Sir Edward Davey, Leader of the Liberal Democrats and former

Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change was a British government cabinet position from 2008 to 2016. The Department of Energy and Climate Change was created on 3 October 2008 when then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown ...

. *Cllr

Luisa Porritt Luisa Manon Porritt (born 23 May 1987) is a British Liberal Democrat politician. She served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for London from 2019 to 2020. She was the party's candidate for the 2021 London mayoral election, though she ...

, Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London and Councillor in Camden. * Caroline Pigeon, Liberal Democrat leader on the London Assembly. *

Munira Wilson Munira Wilson (' Hassam; born 26 April 1978) is a British Liberal Democrat politician who was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Twickenham at the 2019 general election. She succeeded the former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cab ...

, Liberal Democrat MP for Twickenham. Labour Party: *

Lyn Brown Lyn Carol Brown (born 13 April 1960) is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for West Ham (UK Parliament constituency), West Ham since 2005 United Kingdom general election, 2005. A mem ...

, Labour MP for West Ham. *Cllr

Damien Egan Damien James Egan is a British Labour Party politician, and the second directly elected Mayor of Lewisham in Greater London. Early life Egan was born in Cork, Ireland, and raised in Bristol. During his childhood, his family were homeless on ...

, Labour Mayor of Lewisham. *

Rokhsana Fiaz Rokhsana Fiaz (born December 1971) is a Labour Party politician serving as Mayor of Newham. Fiaz was elected as a Councillor for the Newham ward of Custom House in 2014. Ahead of the 2018 Mayoral election, following protracted disagreement ...

, Labour Mayor of Newham. *

Philip Glanville Philip Glanville is a British Labour Party politician who currently serves as the directly elected mayor of Hackney in London. Philip Glanville was elected Mayor of Hackney in September 2016, becoming the borough's second directly elected mayo ...

, Labour Mayor of Hackney. *

Abena Oppong-Asare Abena Oppong-Asare (born 8 February 1983) is a British Labour Party politician. She was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Erith and Thamesmead in the 2019 general election. She and Bell Ribeiro-Addy, both elected in the 2019 general ...

, MP for Erith and Thamesmead. *Cllr Peter John, Labour leader of Southwark Council. *

Matthew Pennycook Matthew Thomas Pennycook (born 29 October 1982) is a British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Greenwich and Woolwich since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Shadow Minister for Housing and Planning since ...

, Labour MP for Greenwich and Woolwich. *

John McDonnell John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British politician who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2015 to 2020. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington since 1997. ...

, Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington.

Campaign groups

The tunnel is opposed by the 'No to the Silvertown Tunnel' campaign, and more recently the Stop the Silvertown Tunnel Coalition which claims that it would generate more traffic and more congestion, and lead to more

air pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...

Friends of the Earth Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an international network of environmental organizations in 73 countries. The organization was founded in 1969 in San Francisco by David Brower, Donald Aitken and Gary Soucie after Brower's split with ...

have been lobbying Tower Hamlets Borough Council to reject the proposal. In July 2020,

Extinction Rebellion Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a global environmental movement, with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk o ...

protesters locked themselves to a drilling rig, calling on

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...

Sadiq Khan Sadiq Aman Khan (; born 8 October 1970) is a British politician serving as Mayor of London since 2016. He was previously Member of Parliament (MP) for Tooting from 2005 until 2016. A member of the Labour Party, Khan is on the party's sof ...

to halt the project amidst environmental concerns. In April 2021, 52 academics and campaigners sent a joint open letter to

transport secretary The Secretary of State for Transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Department for Transport. The incumbent i ...

Grant Shapps Grant Shapps (born 14 September 1968) is a British politician who is serving as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy since October 2022. He previously served as Secretary of State for Transport in the Premiership of Bo ...

and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan seeking an "emergency review" of the proposed tunnel's environmental impact.

History

It was proposed that the project should be reviewed in 2006 following the completion of the

Thames Gateway Bridge The Thames Gateway Bridge was a proposed crossing over the River Thames in east London, England. It was first mooted in the 1970s but never came to fruition. The concept was re-proposed in 2004, with preliminary planning proceeding until Novembe ...

. The then London Mayor,

Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of London from the creation of the office i ...

, supported the scheme in principle and expressed a preference that the link be a road tunnel. The Mayor's Transport Strategy stated that construction of the link would follow the implementation of the subsequently cancelled Thames Gateway Bridge. A public consultation on the Silvertown Tunnel and the

Gallions Reach Ferry The Gallions Reach Crossing is a proposed River Thames crossing close to Gallions Reach in East London, running between Beckton in the London Borough of Newham and Thamesmead in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Originally a proposed ferry crossing ...

took place between February and March 2012. A further consultation was conducted from 29 October 2012 to 1 February 2013. A consultation on tolling both the Silvertown and the Blackwall tunnels opened in October 2014. Following a

Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project Nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIP) are major infrastructure developments in England and Wales that bypass normal local planning requirements. These include proposals for power plants, large renewable energy projects, new airp ...

inquiry, the government approved the proposal in May 2018, and the contract was awarded in November 2019 to the Riverlinx consortium. Construction began in March 2021.Construction work begins on Sadiq Khan’s Silvertown Tunnel
13 March 2021, ''853.london'', accessed 5 May 2021 Construction is due for completion in 2025.

Public transport

When Transport for London applied for permission to build the tunnel, it proposed that five bus routes would use it. However, in October 2022 plans for bus routes were revealed with only two routes using the tunnel. Traffic modelling in 2016 was based on around 37 buses using the tunnels but this was later reduced to 20 buses during peak times.

References

External links

{{commons category
Silvertown Tunnel
TfL project page
'No to Silvertown Tunnel' campaign

Stop the Silvertown Tunnel Coalition
Transport in the Royal Borough of Greenwich Transport in the London Borough of Newham Proposed tunnels in the United Kingdom Proposed road tunnels in Europe Proposed roads in the United Kingdom Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (United Kingdom)