Why Build the Silvertown Tunnel?
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Why build the Silvertown Tunnel? Over the last 30 years east London has changed with the redevelopment of former industrial areas into major commercial and residential districts. The development of Canary Wharf, Stratford, the Royal Docks and the Greenwich Peninsula has had a major impact on the demand for travel across the wider area. The river, once a major barrier to north-south movement, has been crossed five times between Rotherhithe and Woolwich by new railway lines. The existing East London Line at Wapping has been transformed and the Emirates Air Line Cable Car has been introduced to provide a dedicated crossing for pedestrians and cyclists. The first Crossrail trains will enter service in late 2018, providing a further cross-river rail link at Woolwich. The map below shows the cross-river public transport links that are available in east London. Public transport cross-river links in east London There has not however been a comparable investment in London’s road network. London’s roads are a vital part of our transport network. Roads link our communities; providing access to education, jobs and services and enabling businesses to trade, creating new employment. Whilst it is important that as many trips as possible are made by public transport, there will always be a need for some journeys to be made by road. For example, while there are over 6.5 million journeys made by bus every weekday; freight and other vital services are moved almost exclusively by road. The lack of crossings for vehicles The average distance between vehicle crossings in central London is 1km, and in west London it is 2km. In east London however the average distance between river crossings is 8km. In east London, where there is a comparative scarcity of crossings for vehicles, the River Thames is a natural barrier to movement by road. There are also some restrictions on existing river crossings. For example there is a height and width restriction on the Rotherhithe Tunnel, and a 4m height restriction on the northbound bore of the Blackwall Tunnel. This scarcity of crossings causes a number of associated connectivity problems that will get much worse if we do not take action to tackle them. The map below compares the number of river crossings for vehicles in east London with those in central and west London. River crossings for vehicles in London Growth in London The population of London will grow in future. By 2031, there will be around 10m people living here, with much of the growth expected to take place in east London. The map below highlights those areas where the most significant growth in east London could take place. Areas of opportunity for growth in east London The extra population will put further pressure on London’s road network, even if the vast majority of the new trips are made by public transport. The table below compares trips to work by car made by residents of Greenwich, Newham and Tower Hamlets in 2001 and 2011. Change in trips to Trips to work by Trips to work by Borough work by car, 2001 car in 2001 car in 2011 - 2011 Greenwich 33,500 33,900 +1% Newham 25,300 27,700 +9% Tower Hamlets 13,200 14,400 +9% TOTAL 72,000 76,000 +6% The total number of trips to work by bus in these boroughs has grown even more, as shown in the following table. Borough Trips to work by Trips to work by Change in trips to bus in 2001 bus in 2011 work by bus, 2001 - 2011 Greenwich 12,400 19,100 +54% Newham 10,500 17,500 +66% Tower Hamlets 7,700 14,800 +92% TOTAL 30,600 51,400 +68% As the population of these boroughs has grown, so the total number of trips to work by car and by bus has increased. New road capacity to relieve the congestion at Blackwall will also enable new bus connections to be provided that will support growth in the surrounding area. London’s population has and will also continue to have a growing demand for goods and services. A recent TfL study showed that almost 90 per cent of all goods moved in London are transported by road. Around a third of the current total use made of the Blackwall Tunnel is by freight vehicles. Irrespective of how the additional population will travel in future, Londoners will always demand goods and services, which for the most part will be transported by road. The problems at the Blackwall Tunnel The demand to cross the river by road in east London is focussed on a limited number of crossings. The Rotherhithe Tunnel and Woolwich Ferry offer much less capacity than the Blackwall Tunnel. The Blackwall Tunnel provides a key, strategic link connecting the A12 and A13 to the A102 and A2. The tunnel is used principally by cars, although it also provides a key route for freight vehicles and other traffic. The table below shows which vehicles use the tunnel, day by day. Proportion of total vehicles Vehicle Type using the tunnel in each direction per day Car 68% Light Good Vehicles 18% Heavy Goods Vehicles 8% Motorbikes 3% Taxis & Private Hire 2% Vehicles Buses & Coaches 1% Table showing the use made of the Blackwall Tunnel in each direction by vehicle type Demand to cross the river by vehicle from areas throughout east and southeast London is at its most intense at Blackwall. This causes a number of problems which are described in this section. Demand for the Blackwall Tunnel The charts below show the use that is currently made of the tunnel in each direction during an average week in 2013, showing how demand regularly meets or exceeds the optimal operational capacity of the tunnel. Chart showing northbound flow at the Blackwall Tunnel Chart showing southbound flow at the Blackwall Tunnel There is regular queuing on the approaches to the Blackwall Tunnel, particularly so during the busy peak periods, with journeys on the approach to and through the tunnel often taking up to 20 minutes or more. The Blackwall Tunnel was simply not designed to cope with the current level of demand. Congestion on the approach to the Blackwall Tunnel Incidents at the Blackwall Tunnel There are a large number of occasions in which a vehicle breakdown, an overheight vehicle or an accident causes disruption and consequential delays at the Blackwall Tunnel. From November 2012 – November 2013, there were almost 1,100 unplanned incidents at Blackwall which caused disruption to the smooth operation of the tunnel. The table below provides a breakdown of the nature of these incidents. Nature of incident No of incidents in 2013 Overheight vehicle attempting to access 649 the northbound bore Vehicle breakdown on the approach to or 234 within the tunnel Other – eg. Debris within the tunnel 86 Road traffic accident 67 Table to show incidents at the Blackwall Tunnel in 2013 The duration of these incidents can vary from a few minutes to, in extreme cases, several hours. Irrespective of its nature and duration however, any incident at the Blackwall Tunnel makes the congestion here much worse, causing knock-on effects across a much wider area. TfL has taken a number of steps to improve the performance of the Blackwall Tunnel and reduce as far as possible those incidents which disrupt the smooth operation of the tunnel. These steps include: • Introducing a new dedicated Roads Response Team, based at Blackwall. The team is made up of a number of traffic Police officers who respond to and clear incidents at the tunnel as quickly as possible, reducing the time the tunnel must be closed; • Installing a new automatic overheight vehicle detection system, to reduce the number of incidents in which large vehicles attempt to gain access to the northbound bore of the tunnel, where there is a 4m height restriction; • Refurbishing the northbound bore of the Blackwall Tunnel to reduce the number of instances in which it is necessary to close the bore for routine or emergency maintenance. The automatic overheight vehicle detection system at the Blackwall Tunnel While these steps have had an effect in reducing the number of incidents at the tunnel, the volume of incidents here remains a serious issue given the very significant disruption they cause. To illustrate this point, we wanted to outline the impact of a recent incident at the Blackwall Tunnel. On 11 September 2014, it was necessary to close the northbound bore of the Blackwall Tunnel from around 6.45am until just before 7am while we carried out emergency repairs to fix a loose panel. Traffic began to queue as soon as the closure was put into place. At just before 7am, and even though the tunnel had been fully reopened, the volume of traffic trying to cross the river was so great that the queue for the tunnel extended as far back as the A206 Woolwich Road. We posted signs on the approach to the tunnel and used social media to warn drivers to avoid the area. The traffic queue continued to build however and by just before 7.30am it had extended as far back as the A2 Kidbrooke Interchange. The queuing affected local bus services, delaying bus passengers. The queue did not fully clear until just after 9am, when traffic flow returned to normal levels for this area. The lack of an alternative crossing for vehicles meant that a closure of the Blackwall Tunnel lasting less than 15 minutes caused over two hours of disruption to the travelling public. Clearly, there is the potential for an incident to disrupt traffic flow on any road in the network.