A major tunnel in London is expected to close this weekend with drivers warned to prepare for long delays.
The southbound Blackwall Tunnel will be closed from Saturday, July 20, until Monday, July 22, to allow crucial work to commence.
This weekend closures will start at midnight on Saturday morning, with southbound traffic not returning to normal until 5am on Monday morning at the latest.
When it opens in 2025, the new tunnel will help reduce traffic congestion and deliver “faster, more reliable journeys” in east London.It also would make travel times up to 20 minutes quicker.
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The closure is to allow more work on Silvertown tunnel to be completed
TFL
The upcoming closure is the first of two to take place this summer as work on the tunnel continues.
The second set of closures will take place between August 17 and 19, in which drivers must take alternative routes.
Drivers are advised to plan their routes in advance, checking before they travel so they can consider any other potential traffic impacts or restrictions.
Roads and alternative river crossings in east and central London are expected to be busier than usual.
Drivers should expect more traffic around the Rotherhithe Tunnel and along the A13 Commercial Road between Canning Town and Whitechapel.
The Woolwich Ferry will be in operation across the weekends to help offer alternative means of transport.
TfL explained that drivers of HGVs, as well as vans more than two metres in height or weighing more than two tonnes, should consider routes away from central London across the weekends where possible.
Additional messaging signs will be placed on the main roads approaching the Blackwall Tunnel to guide drivers.
This comes as a new consultation is launched to ask residents how the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels will operate, with suggestions for people travelling through to pay a minimum of £4 per day.
The consultation, which is set to end on September 3, has proposed charging motorcycles, mopeds, motor tricycles, cars and small vans £1.50 per day if they are registered with Auto Pay. Car and small van owners will see these charges jump to £4 when not using the automatic payment system.
Large vans will be charged £6.50 and HGVs will see costs rise to £10 if they drive through the tunnels between 6am and 10pm.
TfL said it is also working 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 are given alternative routes.
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Drivers are being told to expect more traffic around the Rotherhithe Tunnel during the closures
Nick Fairholme, director of capital delivery systems at TfL, said: "We are now in the final phase of works to complete the Silvertown Tunnel and these closures will help us to start to get the tunnel ready to open.
“We appreciate that these planned weekend works will have an impact on some drivers and are doing everything we can to limit potential disruption - including ensuring a northbound route through the Blackwall Tunnel is maintained throughout."