Closures will take place between 21.00 on Fridays to 05.00 on Mondays on 4-7 June, 9-12 July, 16-19 July, 10-13 September and 1-4 October 2010.

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

  • Weekends chosen to minimise disruption by avoiding Jubilee line closures and local major events
  • TfL to hold public meetings on Friday 14 and Saturday 15 May to discuss vital improvement works and weekend closure programme

Transport for London (TfL) will carry out five weekend closures of the northbound Blackwall Tunnel this year as part of the ongoing refurbishment and safety upgrade of the 113-year-old Tunnel.

Traffic diverted

These will allow its contractor, BAM Nuttall, to carry out vital improvement works to the ventilation shafts that can't be carried out during the weeknight closure programme.

The additional closures, which have been agreed following discussions with key stakeholders including surrounding boroughs, user groups and key local businesses, have been timed to avoid weekend closures of the Jubilee Line and major events in the area. 

As with the weeknight closure programme, northbound traffic will be diverted through the southbound tunnel while the northbound tunnel is closed. Southbound traffic will be required to find alternative routes to cross the River Thames.

TfL expects to carry out a total of 10 weekend closures during the three year refurbishment programme.

Public meetings

The remaining five closures will take place in 2011 and 2012, and dates will be announced in advance of these closures as work progresses.

TfL is holding two public meetings this weekend to discuss the reasons for the weekend and weeknight closure programmes, and the vital safety improvement work which is being carried out on the Victorian-era northbound Blackwall Tunnel.

The meetings will take place on:

  • Friday 14 May 2010, 18.00 to 19.30 - East Wintergarden, Bank Street, Canary Wharf, E14 5AB (Nearest Tube: Canary Wharf)
  • Saturday 15 May 2010, 12.00 to 13.30 - Screen 2, Vue Cinema at the O2, Peninsula Square, SE10 0DX (Nearest Tube: North Greenwich)

Upgrade essential

Garrett Emmerson, Chief Operating Officer for Streets, TfL, 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.

'We will be holding two public meetings this Friday evening and Saturday afternoon to discuss the safety upgrade work and weekend closures programme.

'I would like to encourage anyone interested in or affected by the closures to come along and talk to us about the work we're doing on the tunnel.'

Work on the refurbishment will be completed by December 2012. For more information, visit www.tfl.gov.uk/blackwalltunnelrefurbishment.

Notes to editors:

  • TfL agreed the dates for the weekend closures following discussion with a number of key stakeholders including surrounding local boroughs, Canary Wharf Group, The O2 and Connect Plus
  • During the Blackwall Tunnel weekend closures, the regular Friday night maintenance closure of the Rotherhithe Tunnel will be suspended to allow traffic to use the tunnel as an alternative river crossing
  • The three year, £70 million refurbishment programme of the northbound Blackwall Tunnel will see new fire and incident detection systems and a new CCTV camera system installed, along with better access for emergency services. These improvements will make the tunnel meet the latest safety standards where appropriate and will help to ensure the safe continued use of the tunnel, which was built in 1897 and carries 50,000 vehicles a day
  • While the refurbishment works are carried out, northbound traffic is diverted through the southbound tunnel. Because the diversion involves chicanes, a 20mph speed limit is put in place each night and enforced by average speed cameras. Southbound traffic uses other river crossings
  • There is no toll for using the Dartford - Thurrock river crossing between 22:00 and 06:00
  • While the northbound tunnel is closed for refurbishment works, the Route 108 (which is the only bus to use the Blackwall Tunnel) is affected. For more details, please visit http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/14080.aspx#section-2 or check local information at bus stops
  • TfL recently extended the operating hours of the Woolwich Ferry from 20.00 to 22.00, Monday to Thursday to help provide an additional river crossing during the refurbishment programme