Details of the proposed tolls for the Blackwall Tunnel and the new Silvertown Tunnel will be announced in the days after the general election,
TfL will begin a consultation into the charges, which are expected to come into effect once the Silvertown Tunnel opens next spring, The Greenwich Wire has revealed.
Drivers of cars and light vans can expect to pay £4 at peak times to use the two crossings, with a £1.50 off-peak and weekend charge, sources said. HGVs will be charged up to £10 per trip. Trips overnight will be free. TfL has refused to confirm the figures, although they are broadly in line with those on signs submitted for approval in April 2022.
Discounts for local businesses and low-income local residents are also planned.
A formal announcement has been held up by the law around the general election, which restricts public bodies such as TfL to making routine announcements. The Greenwich Wire understands the consultation could begin as early as next week and last until September. A final decision would be made in December.
TfL has said the tolls are needed to pay off the cost of the £2 billion crossing, which is being built and will be operated by a private company, Riverlinx. It also says the charges are needed to stop the tunnels – and neighbouring areas such as Greenwich, Poplar and Canning Town – being swamped with drivers.
Much of the construction work on the Silvertown Tunnel is complete and the road surface is due to be laid in the coming weeks, but research at City Hall has found that public awareness of the crossing, and the planned tolls, is still low.
Charges are included in the legislation allowing the new tunnel’s construction, but Greater London Authority sources said that TfL opted for a public consultation after being advised that whatever level was put forward could be subject to a legal challenge.
Conservative councils including Bexley and Bromley tried to challenge the expansion to the ultra-low emission zone in the courts last year. ULEZ cameras have also been vandalised in an attempt to derail the clean-air measure, with campaigns being led through Facebook groups. One camera in Sidcup was blown up last December, damaging vehicles and properties.
“The anti-ULEZ campaign last year spooked the mayor’s office and there’s a concern that there will be a social media campaign along those lines,” one source said.
“The timing for the consultation is quite late, but we only had legal advice that we needed another consultation in April,” they added.
