The southbound Blackwall Tunnel will be closed again to allow for works on the new Silvertown Tunnel – with drivers warned to plan their journeys across the Thames in advance.

There have been regular closures at the crossing for the past year to allow for works on the new tunnel, which is due to open next summer. 

The southbound tunnel will be closed between 00.01 on Saturday and 05.00 on Monday. Northbound traffic will run as normal.

Public transport alternatives will be more limited than usual, though, with much of the Docklands Light Railway closed, including services linking Lewisham, Greenwich and Canary Wharf.

Buses on route 108 will be split in both directions, with one serve linking Lewisham and North Greenwich and the other running between Canning Town and Stratford International. Passengers will be carried free on the Jubilee Line between North Greenwich and Canning Town. In the early hours of Monday morning, buses will run via Tower Bridge instead.

Past closures have led to serious congestion on the A13 between Canning Town and Whitechapel, and around the Rotherhithe Tunnel approaches. 

Drivers heading for Charlton Athletic’s away fixture with Cambridge United will be among those affected. Those travelling to West Ham United’s home match with Fulham on Sunday and comedian Michael McIntyre’s shows at the O2 will also need to find new routes.

TfL is advising drivers to use crossings away from central London – which may include paying for the Dartford Crossing, a foretaste of what will come when the Silvertown Tunnel opens.

Both Silvertown and Blackwall tunnels will be tolled from next year to help pay the £2 billion cost of the new crossing, a policy introduced by Boris Johnson when he was mayor.

New DLR train on test
The DLR closure is so new trains can be tested. Image: Transport for London

The Docklands Light Railway engineering work is so new trains can be tested on the network. Services between Lewisham-Bank, Canary Wharf-Stratford and Tower Gateway-Canning Town will all be cancelled on both Saturday and Sunday. However, the Woolwich Arsenal to Stratford International service will still run.

Other cross-river transport links, such as Thameslink, the London Overground through Canada Water and the Elizabeth Line, will run as normal, although the Jubilee Line will have engineering works at the other end of the line, between Stanmore and West Hampstead.