In 2003 the AA Motoring Trust labelled the northbound bore of the Blackwall Tunnel the fourth most dangerous tunnel in Europe. Major concerns included a lack of lay-bys, emergency lanes and emergency lighting and no automatic closure of tunnels or activation of fire ventilation after a blaze is detected. In fact, the northbound bore of the tunnel, still in use today, was designed for horses and completed in 1897 – high vehicles using the tunnel today have to keep to the left-hand lane so that they do not hit the tunnel’s inner lining.
Transport for London (TfL) is currently spending £24m on safety improvements designed to extend the life of the northbound tunnel for “a further 30 years” and, although this expenditure is welcomed, it is merely a drop in the ocean compared to the spend required to bring the tunnel up to standard.
