Rotherhithe Tunnel
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The Rotherhithe Tunnel is a road tunnel crossing beneath the River Thames in East London.
It connects Limehouse in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets north of the river to Rotherhithe in the London Borough of Southwark south of the river. It was constructed between 1904-1908 by Sir Maurice Fitzmaurice, partly using a tunnelling shield and partly through cut-and-cover methods. The entrance arches standing at the entrances of the tunnel are in fact the cutting edges of the original tunnelling shields used by Fitzmaurice.
The Rotherhithe Tunnel consists of a single bore 4,860 feet (1,481 m) long, carrying a two-lane carriageway 48 feet (14.5 m) below the high-water level of the Thames. It also has two spiral entrance shafts for pedestrians, now closed to the public, located just before the points where the tunnel goes under the river bed. It was opened in 1908 by George Prince of Wales, and Richard Robinson, Chairman of the London County Council. It should not be confused with the nearby but earlier and much more historic Thames Tunnel, designed and built under the supervision of Marc Isambard Brunel and his son Isambard Kingdom Brunel, which is now used by the East London Line of the London Underground.
The tunnel was originally designed to serve foot and horse-drawn traffic passing between the docks on either side of the river. This accounts for some of its more unusual design features. Its route includes sharp, nearly right-angled bends at the points where the tunnel goes under the river bed. These served two purposes: avoiding the local docks on each side of the river, and preventing horses from seeing daylight at the end of the tunnel too early which might make them bolt for the exit. Unfortunately, this has made it difficult for motorised vehicles to traverse it safely. Large vehicles cannot easily pass the sharp bends and are therefore banned from the tunnel. The speed limit of 20 miles per hour is enforced with speed cameras but is frequently exceeded. A 2003 survey rated the Rotherhithe Tunnel the tenth most dangerous tunnel in the whole of Europe. [1] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2970901.stm)
Cyclists may use the tunnel, although it is not the safest option for crossing the River Thames. It is safer to make a detour to the West and use Tower Bridge, or to the East and use the Greenwich foot tunnel. Pedestrians may also use the tunnel, although only approximately 20 do so per day. [2] (http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/press-centre/press-releases/press-releases-content.asp?prID=92)
See also
- Crossings of the River Thames
- List of tunnels in the United Kingdom
- Tunnels underneath the River Thames