You can find some of the most exciting regeneration projects in East London at Greenwich Peninsula and on the opposite side of the Thames at Silvertown and Royal Victoria Dock. There is a lot going on, including new transport infrastructure, housing, and commercial architecture. The work is fantastic for the local communities and the economy. A recent milestone will improve the area even more.
First new Thames road tunnel in 45 years
Work on the Silvertown Tunnel is complete, with the official opening today (7th April 2025). It is a huge milestone for the project and this part of London.
It has been a long journey to this point. The first proposals to create a new road tunnel in East London were back in 2012. They didn’t get approval from the Secretary of State for Transport until 2018. The following year, a joint partnership (Riverlinx CJV), was awarded the project.
The decision to create a new tunnel was sound. Transport congestion was common in the area because of issues with the Blackwall Tunnel. It wasn’t built to handle the sheer volume of modern day traffic. As a result, closures and mile long tailbacks were commonplace. It also had a bad impact on air quality and noise in the areas. So, there was a lot of support for creating a new tunnel nearby. Connecting Greenwich and Silvertown makes sense and can inspire more work in both areas, including housing and commercial architecture.
The project
Construction work began in 2021. Notably, the work used Jill, the largest tunnel boring machine in the UK. The massive 11.9m diameter machine did an average of 22m a day, tunnelling carefully under the Thames. In total, the project saw the excavation of a massive 1.9 million tonnes of material. It was taken away from the site by river barge, saving 110,000 lorry trips on local roads. All of the spoil went to a former landfill site in Essex to help restore it.
The project is noteworthy from an engineering sense for a massive reason. The tunnel boring machine did the first tunnel before turning around using a rotation chamber and “nitrogen skates”. It could then work back to form the second tunnel. This innovative method was a first for the UK.
Interestingly, the project also involves two new pieces of commercial architecture. The buildings at either end of the tunnel will provide space for services. They will also be the home of emergency response services.
Now the tunnel is open and people can start using it. The hope is it will massively help the local areas, preventing congestion and speeding up travel times. There is also a new bus service for the tunnel, with 21 zero emission buses per hour in each direction. Cyclists can use a new shuttle service too, with shuttles every 12 minutes.
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It will be interesting to see how big of an impact the Silvertown Tunnel has. The potential is there for it to unlock many new developments. It could support new jobs, housing, and much more.
If you have plans for any area in this part of East London, you can rely on Coffey Architects. We’re award winning specialists with a large portfolio of diverse projects. It includes homes and housing, offices, libraries and galleries, and much more.
So, get in touch and let us know what you have in mind. We can look at every element, including orientation, layout, lighting, and more.