Silvertown Tunnel to open in April 2025, TfL confirms
07 January, 2025 By Thames Menteth
Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed that the Silvertown Tunnel will open on 7 April 2025, as construction work on the project nears an end.
The 1.4km long twin bore Silvertown Tunnel will take road traffic under the River Thames, between Silvertown to the north and the Greenwich Peninsula to the south.
Riverlinx CJV, a construction joint venture of Bam Nuttall, Ferrovial Construction and SK Ecoplant, is building the tunnel on behalf of TfL.
First announced in 2012, construction work on the project began in spring 2021. The Riverlinx team finished main tunnelling work ahead of schedule at the end of July 2023 due to the quick rotation of the project’s large TBM.
In May last year, Riverlinx CJV reached another major milestone after completing construction works for the connections between the open cut approaches and the tunnelling section of the Silvertown Tunnel.
This completed the work to connect both Northbound and Southbound tunnel structures from the Silvertown portal to the Greenwich portal.
Construction works and rigorous testing of new tunnel is now sufficiently complete to set a planned opening date, TfL has said.
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TfL chief capital officer Stuart Harvey said he was pleased to be able to confirm the tunnel’s opening date of 7 April 2025 after “years of hard work and close collaboration between ourselves and Riverlinx”.
“The tunnel is on track to open in the coming months and is a testament to brilliant and ground-breaking engineering,” he added.
Riverlinx CEO John Hagan said the announcement of the opening date “represents the culmination of effort for the thousands of people that have worked on the project over the past five years”.
“I would especially like to recognise our CJV partners BAM, Ferrovial, and SK ecoplant. We at Riverlinx look forward to beginning the operations and maintenance phase and our continued partnership with TfL.”
Work on Tidal Basin Roundabout, together with new walking and cycling routes around the roundabout and along Dock Road, has also recently been completed. Work on improving Lower Lea Crossing for all road users is currently underway and due to be complete by the end of spring 2025.
Operational readiness testing has been underway on the tunnel ahead of its opening.
Riverlinx CJV project director Borja Trashorras said: “Following over five years of careful planning, design and construction, it is truly rewarding to see the opening of the Silvertown Tunnel. With its determination and passion, the Construction Joint Venture (CJV) team of BAM, Ferrovial & SK ecoplant has consistently outperformed throughout the design and construction phase.
“The team has delivered solutions to overcome significant engineering challenges and complex working environments and the project will open on time and with the highest quality and safety standards.”