The Blackwall Tunnel
Through me you go to the grief wracked city; Through me you go to everlasting pain; Through me you go a pass among lost souls... And I endure eternally. Surrender as you enter, every hope you have.
- Dante's Inferno, Canto III
Reader Ed and his family have been seduced to Brockley from Hackney and would like to know whether any Brockley residents regularly use the Blackwall Tunnel during rush hour and - if so - how long the journey usually takes and how often it goes wrong.
Any advice welcome.
17 comments:
Wouldn't know. Great quote though.
A long time. And watch out for the zombies.
When I used it for work, about 2 years ago,easy passage through finished at about 6.40 and you could get North again without queueing after about 10.30.
BBC Londons 15 minute traffic updates were good for major probelems(for which the Greenwich slip Road exit might be very useful)
All I know is that when they close it, the whole of london grinds to a halt and it can take 2 hours to cross the river, which isn't fun.
The Blackwall tunnel is a purgatorial nightmare. The only place where I have been stuck in a traffic jam at 3am.
For the next 2 1/2 years it's closed Northbound at 9pm till 5am, and the Southbound crawls.
Normal hours either very easy or suicide inducing depending on the will of the gods. My advice, avoid, avoid, avoid...
From Sun in Sands can take up to 30 or 40 mins to get through - but you get inured to it in the end (Zombies??. Greenwich slip take s you up close, but then you have to q up the approach roads. Care when changing lanes - motor bikes cannoning up the white lines are a real menace. When coming home you will q from Bow - my preference is to stay in the outside lane but don't leave a gap in front or someone will be in like a shot.
I don't go near unless I have to, especially at peak hours. Last time was about a month ago, coming in from the north at about 6:30 I hit the first queues near the Olympic site and was in stop-n-go traffic for the next two hours.
Doesn't the ELL go to Hackney these days?
Regards
Luke
go by train...
Really bad idea to use during rush hour - work colleague tells me it can take up to an hour just to get through the tunnel from Greenwich to the C Wharf and it needs to be approached from the side roads for that time (avoid approaching from main road). Traffic starts to build up at 5.30 am. Even if you love your car now you will hate it by the end. It's like sitting in a car park.
If car not essential much better to use the DLR or Old East London Line / Overground
is rotherhithe an option during rush hour to get to newham / hackney or is that even worse?
Assuming you are going via Sun in the Sands, allow a good 45 minutes to get from there to the tunnel mouth in peak period. It's pretty clear after that point. On the way back, you might be queuing for 30 minutes or so southbound - in my experience it was usually slightly quicker. However, if there is an accident or breakdown, things can jam up quickly. People pushing into queues will also test your faith in human nature to its limits.
Last time I was waiting in one of those queues (having been sitting in it for 30mins) a lovely young lady started hurling abuse at me because I refused to let her push in. That made me a bit happy.
There are a neat little series of turns and shimmies after the Rotherithe, starting at Salmon Lane straight across, which will bring you on 4 wheels or 2 to Mare Street.
These roads were little used but may now be known to the satnav demigods and so busier.
Get yourself a motorbike or scooter and learn to ride it. I've Spent twenty years on and off ripping through traffic stuck in the Blackwall and Rotherhithe Tunnel approaches amazed at the amount of single occupancy non-trade vehicles sitting in the jams.
I thought it was southbound that is closed each night now - certainly was when I was coming home yesterday, with unhelpfully conflicting signs, some saying it was from 9th July and some implying immediate effect.
I think Blunderbus has it right - lap of the Gods whether it is fine or a nightmare.
What is a fun alternative (when it is working) is the Woolwich Ferry but, linking the North and South Circulars, that is probably too far out and the South Circular also being something to avoid in the rush-hour if you can.
Great quote - the gates of ivory (?). And I think the sepulchral "Abandon hope, all ye who enter here" must be another translation of it.
Thanks everyone for your words of wisdom, and Nick for his erudition. I will certainly be using the ELL, but I work near Shoreditch High Street. Rosie (wife) works in Newham and needs the car during the day. Looks like she'll be setting off early then...
Nightmare last night, 4 and half hours to get across the thames because of the accident in the tunnel, avoid it if you can
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