Silvertown Tunnel

The Silvertown Tunnel is a 1.4-kilometre twin-bore road tunnel beneath the River Thames in east London. It links Silvertown on the north bank with the Greenwich Peninsula on the south bank. The tunnel runs close to the existing Blackwall Tunnel and was designed to ease congestion there. It carries the A1026 road and includes dedicated lanes for heavy goods vehicles, taxis, buses and coaches. A shuttle bus service now carries cyclists since the tunnel itself has no pedestrian or cycle access. The tunnel was promoted by Transport for London and built by the Riverlinx consortium under a design, build, finance and maintain contract. Construction began in March 2021 using an 11.87-metre earth pressure balance tunnel boring machine named Jill. Tunnelling started in September 2022 and finished in September 2023. The tunnel opened to traffic in April 2025, with tolls introduced at the same time as those for the Blackwall Tunnel. Visitors approaching the Greenwich portal find it close to the O2 Arena and North Greenwich tube station. The Silvertown portal sits beside City Hall and near the proposed Thames Wharf DLR station. The tunnel portals and control buildings were designed by dRMM. Although the tunnel itself is for motor traffic, a replacement pedestrian and cycle bridge at Boord Street opened in July 2023. The tunnel’s dedicated bus lanes now carry zero-emission routes, improving cross-river public transport.