Blackwall Tunnel weekend closures announced

It was going to happen…Transport for London have announced some weekend closures for the Blackwall Tunnel. In fact, there are plans for a total of ten weekend closures for the northbound Blackwall Tunnel.

Currently, the northbound Blackwall Tunnel is closed from 21:00 to 05:00 Sundays to Fridays. There are provisions during the closure including an extended Woolwich Ferry service from 20:00 until 22:00. During the closure, northbound users have been able to use the southbound tunnel during this period.

The weekend closures will take place between 21:00 on Fridays through to 05:00 on Mondays. The first five weekend closures are as follows:

4-7 June 2010
9-12 July 2010
16-19 July 2010
1-4 October 2010

The closures have been planned to avoid any Jubilee line weekend closures and major events.

So what’s happening during the weekend closures? Well, improvement works to the ventilation shafts need to be carried out that wouldn’t be possible during the weekday closures. As before, all northbound traffic will use the southbound tunnel with southbound traffic having to seek alternative river crossings.

Garrett Emmerson, Chief Operating Officer for Streets said:

The refurbishment and safety upgrade of the 113-year-old Blackwall Tunnel is vitally important for its continued safe operation.

We apologise for any inconvenience these weekend closures may cause and are doing all we can to minimise disruption whilst these works are being carried out.

Transport for London have announced that the remaining five weekend closures will take place between 2011 and 2012. The northbound Blackwall Tunnel works will finish in December 2012.