Blackwall Tunnel: Five weekends of TfL planned closures in January and February

Transport for London (TfL) has warned drivers that the Blackwall Tunnel will be part-closed for five weekends in January and February, as works continue on the east London river crossing.

The tunnel will be shut southbound traffic across the weekends of January 13-15, January 20-22, January 27-29, February 10-12 and February 24-26 to help support works to the northbound carriageway.

TfL says the works, which are required to implement the road configuration for the new Silvertown Tunnel which will open in 2025, will see new drainage as well as new overheight vehicle gantries installed, which are necessary to protect the tunnel.

Across the weekends, the Blackwall Tunnel will be closed for southbound traffic and drivers will need to take alternative routes. 

Northbound traffic will not be affected by these closures as traffic will be diverted through the southbound Blackwall Tunnel.

However, there will be no access to Tunnel Avenue from the A102 at Pear Island across the weekend due to the works. 

The northbound on-slip on Blackwall Lane will also be closed and a signed diversion via the Woolwich Flyover roundabout will be in place.

During the weekend of February 24-26, northbound traffic will also be diverted from the A102 via Millennium Way to the Blackwall tunnel entrance from 10pm until 8am to allow for additional works to install new gantries across all lanes of the A102. 

Carl Eddleston, Director of Network Management and Resilience at TfL, said: “The Blackwall Tunnel is used by tens of thousands of vehicles every day and we appreciate that these planned weekend works will have an impact on some drivers. 

“With less than 18 months until the new Silvertown Tunnel opens, we are working with Riverlinx CJV to prepare the northbound carriageway, and have worked hard to try and limit the potential disruption these will cause, such as ensuring a northbound route can be maintained throughout these closures.”

The route 108, the only bus route that operates through the Blackwall Tunnel, will be split in two, operating between both Lewisham and North Greenwich and between Canning Town and Stratford. 

Customers are advised to then change onto the Jubilee line to cross the river to complete their journeys

A further weekend closure of the southbound Blackwall tunnel will also be required in March 2024. TfL says it will confirm the dates for this in due course.