Kingsway Tunnel

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Not to be confused with Kingsway tramway subway.
Kingsway Tunnel
File:Liverpool Entrance to the Kingsway Tunnel.jpg
The Liverpool Entrance of the Kingsway Tunnel
Overview
Location Merseyside, England
Status Active
Route Kingsway Tunnel
Start Liverpool, Merseyside
End Wallasey, Merseyside
Operation
Opened 24 June 1971
Owner Merseytravel
Traffic Automotive
Technical
Construction 1966-1971
Number 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 post-war 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. It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 24 June 1971.

Operations

Kingsway comprises identical twin tubes. Each has two 3.7 m (12 ft) wide lanes. They carry on average 45,000 vehicles a day (almost 16.4million per year).[2] A single car journey through the tunnel currently costs £1.70 (2015).[3] Manned and automatic tollbooths are located on the Wallasey side. Of the two tunnels crossing the River Mersey, Kingsway is the only tunnel able to take 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.[4]

References

  1. ↑ ICE Virtual Tour
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links


Next crossing upstream River Mersey Next crossing downstream
Queensway Tunnel  Kingsway Tunnel None 

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