Silvertown Tunnel one year on: operational and design insights for engineers
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

First reported on New Civil Engineer
30 Second Briefing
Peak journey times through the Silvertown and Blackwall tunnels have fallen by up to 58% in the first year since the 1.4km twin-bore Silvertown Tunnel opened in April 2025, according to TfL’s Silvertown & Blackwall Tunnels Monitoring Report. The new under-river crossing, carrying two lanes of traffic each way beneath the Thames between Silvertown and Greenwich Peninsula, has redistributed flows previously constrained at Blackwall. TfL reports more reliable peak travel times and reduced queuing on key approach corridors, with ongoing monitoring of traffic volumes, air quality and user charging impacts.
Technical Brief
- Monitoring framework covers traffic volumes, journey times, air quality and charging behaviour across both crossings.
- Analysis distinguishes between peak and inter-peak conditions to isolate congestion-relief effects from background variability.
- Findings will inform any future adjustments to toll levels, traffic management and demand-management measures.
Our Take
The reported journey time gains at the Silvertown & Blackwall Tunnels give TfL a live case study of network-wide benefits just as it rolls out its Professional Services Framework 3 with Arcadis and WSP, which is likely to shape how future road and river-crossing schemes are appraised in London.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
Related Articles
Related Industries & Products
Mining
Geotechnical software solutions for mining operations including CMRR analysis, hydrogeological testing, and data management.
Construction
Quality control software for construction companies with material testing, batch tracking, and compliance management.
CMRR-io
Streamline coal mine roof stability assessments with our cloud-based CMRR software featuring automated calculations, multi-scenario analysis, and collaborative workflows.
HYDROGEO-io
Comprehensive hydrogeological testing platform for managing, analysing, and reporting on packer tests, lugeon values, and hydraulic conductivity assessments.
GEODB-io
Centralised geotechnical data management solution for storing, accessing, and analysing all your site investigation and material testing data.


