Blackwall Tunnel in east London has finally reopened after a van caught fire and forced the route to close yesterday.
Drivers were forced to abandon their cars and mass evacuate from the tunnel – which links Tower Hamlets with Greenwich, and part of the A102 road – during the incident at around midday.
But now Transport for London (TfL) has reopened the major Thames crossing in the early hours of today after working for around 12 hours throughout the evening to repair the road.
During the lengthy closure yesterday, at one of the few east London crossings, huge tailbacks were reported on the A102 Greenwich to Poplar road and the Woolwich Road Flyover.
One video shared on social media shows motorists running away from their cars and a woman can be heard saying: 'That was so scary. I was running with my baby.'
The van driver managed to escape the vehicle before fire crews arrived and no injuries were reported.
Around 100,000 drivers use the Blackwall Tunnel every day and severe delays were affecting Greenwich and the surrounding area throughout Wednesday.
One social media user said yesterday: 'I have never seen the traffic so bad. The whole of Greenwich around the station area is completely gridlocked. Chaos.'
In a TfL planning document on east London river crossings, it stated there were a number of challenges with the tunnel.
The managing director of planning wrote the problems include a northbound tunnel that was constructed in 1897 and has a max height restriction of 4m, and a southbound tunnel which was completed in 1967 has a clearance of 4.7m.
The tunnel also operates at a 99 per cent capacity in the peak direction, which planners admit 'causes regular congestion'.
They also note there is a 'lack of resilience', so when there is an incident there are no viable alternative routes which adds to the congestion.
A spokesperson for the London Ambulance Service said yesterday: 'We were called at 12.18pm on Wednesday 28 August to reports of an incident in Tunnel Approach, SE10.
'We attended the scene to assist our emergency services partners. The patient at the scene declined all treatment and we were stood down.'
The spokesperson added that the fire was attended by members of the Hazardous Area Response Team (HART).
A spokesperson for the London Fire Brigade said: 'Firefighters responded to reports of a van alight in Blackwall Tunnel, Greenwich.
'One van was destroyed by the fire. One man left the vehicle before the Brigade arrived. There were no reports of any injuries.'
The Blackwall Tunnel is one of the few crossings in the area, with only the Dartford Crossing and Woolwich Ferry further east.
Due to the constant congestion at the Blackwall Tunnel, a new east London tunnel at Silvertown costing £2billion is due to be completed in 2025.
It will be a four-lane tunnel running for 0.9 miles and will connect North Greenwich with the Royal Docks.
It was first proposed in 2005 under former Mayor Ken Livingstone but was also backed by Conservative mayor Boris Johnson.
The Mayor of London previously confirmed in an interview that 'the intention is for both the Silvertown Tunnel and the Blackwall Tunnel to be tolled' to encourage traffic to split equally between the two.
