Kingsway Tunnel

Kingsway Tunnel
The Liverpool Entrance of the Kingsway Tunnel
Overview
Location Merseyside, England
Status Active
Route Kingsway Tunnel
Start Liverpool, Merseyside
End Wallasey, Merseyside
Operation
Constructed 1966-1971
Opened 24 June 1971
Owner Merseytravel
Traffic Automotive
Technical
No. of lanes 4 (2 in eastbound, 2 westbound)

The Kingsway Tunnel (or Wallasey Tunnel) is a toll road tunnel under the River Mersey between Liverpool and Wallasey. The 1.5 mi (2.4 km) tunnel carries the A59. It was built because the Queensway Tunnel - which was built in the 1930s to carry vehicles between Birkenhead and Liverpool - was unable to cope with the rise in postwar traffic.

Construction

The project was authorised by the Mersey Tunnel (Liverpool/Wallasey) etc. Act 1965. Edmund Nuttall Limited began work in 1966.[1] Construction took five years to complete. The approach to the tunnel on the Wirral side uses the former railway cutting that carried the Seacombe branch line.[2] It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 24 June 1971.

Operations

Kingsway comprises identical twin tubes. Each has two 12 ft (3.7 m) lanes. They carry on average 45,000 vehicles a day (almost 16.4million per year).[3] As of 2017, a single car journey through the tunnel currently costs £1.80.[4] Staffed and automatic tollbooths are located on the Wallasey side. Of the two tunnels crossing the River Mersey, Kingsway is the only one able to take heavy goods vehicles (HGVs).

In a study following the fire in the Mont Blanc Tunnel in 1999, inspectors from the European Union rated the Kingsway Tunnel as "good", one of only eight to receive that rating in Europe.[5]

Over 75 miles (120 km) of wiring was installed in the tunnel as part of a 2016 upgrade to the lighting, which saw the tunnel fitted with more energy efficient and longer-lasting LED lights.[6]

References

  1. ↑ ICE Virtual Tour
  2. ↑ "Mersey Tunnel Users Association - History". Tunnel Users. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  3. ↑ "MERSEY CROSSING STUDY - The Mersey Gateway Project" (PDF). Mersey Gateway. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  4. ↑ "Mersey Tunnels - Tolls Fees and Charges". www.merseytunnels.co.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
  5. ↑ "THE EUROPEAN TUNNEL ASSESSMENT PROGRAMME (EUROTAP) 2005 INSPECTIONS" (PDF). The AA. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  6. ↑ "Major Kingsway Tunnel rewire begins". www.merseytravel.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
Next crossing upstream River Mersey Next crossing downstream
Queensway Tunnel  Kingsway Tunnel None 

Coordinates: 53°24′47″N 3°00′36″W / 53.413°N 3.010°W / 53.413; -3.010

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