Blackwall Tunnel Shut 1,200 Times In Last 9 Months

Saturday, 5. March 2011

Image via Wikipedia

This next item is something that has affected me on many occasions. The closure of the Blackwall Tunnel. It has been shut an amazing 1,200 times in the past 9 months and drivers have been blamed. The tunnel in east London carries 100,000 vehicles a day through the twin tunnels under the River Thames – when it’s open. One of the tunnels was shut a total of 157 hours. Oversized vehicles were a problem whilst vehicle breakdowns were responsible for 287 closures, a third of which were due to drivers running out of fuel. That is incredible as it takes no more than 10 minutes to drive through the tunnel. Every minute the tunnel is closed it stops 60 vehicles from passing through. A digital sign now lists the number of vehicles causing delays in the past month to ‘make people think.’

Personally I find it a pain in the bum as sat nav’s aren’t intelligent and when you try to find another route the bloody thing keeps taking you back to the closed tunnel. Have you had bad experiences with the Blackwall Tunnel? By Graham Hill