Update, March 5: Story updated with new March closure dates of March 23-25.
The southbound Blackwall Tunnel will be closed this weekend – with two more shutdowns coming in March and April, Transport for London has confirmed.
There have been regular weekend closures of the southbound tunnel over the past year to allow for construction work on the Silvertown Tunnel, which will share the Blackwall Tunnel’s southern approach when it opens next year.
The southbound tunnel will be closed between 00.01 on Saturday and 05.00 on Monday, with drivers asked to plan their journeys in advance to avoid delays at other crossings.
Further closures will follow on March 23-25 and April 13-15.
Northbound traffic and buses to and from North Greenwich will also be affected this weekend as the A102 will be closed from the Blackwall Lane flyover to the tunnel entrance between 22.00 on Saturday and 10.00 on Sunday.
Traffic will be diverted via Millennium Way, which is likely to cause further congestion as comedy fans leave Peter Kay’s show at the O2 on Saturday evening.
As in previous closures, bus route 108 will be split in both directions so it runs from Lewisham to North Greenwich and Canning Town to Stratford, with free Jubilee Line travel to link the two sections. In the early hours of Monday the service will run via Tower Bridge instead.
The shutdowns will allow for new overheight vehicle gantries to be installed and resurfacing work as the road network is adjusted to accommodate the new tunnel.
TfL has also released new photos of work inside the Silvertown Tunnel, which will connect the Greenwich Peninsula and Royal Docks.
Both the Blackwall and Silvertown Tunnels will be tolled when the new road opens, a measure planned under the former Conservative mayor Boris Johnson and approved by the government when it gave the project its backing in 2018.
Both Greenwich and Newham councils lobbied for the crossing to be built, but later withdrew their support and both now oppose the project on environmental grounds.
Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor, says the new road is needed to do away with the chronic congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel. Critics – including many in Khan’s party – fear the new road will be counterproductive, bringing more traffic to neighbourhoods already blighted by jams.
TfL says the tolls are needed to prevent this from happening and to pay for the construction costs.
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