Boris Johnson has given details of ambitious proposals to build two road tunnels beneath London to relieve traffic congestion. The capital's Mayor would like to see the first tunnel run from the A40 at Park Royal in the west to the A12 at Hackney Wick in the east; opening by the late 2030s. A second parallel tunnel to the south would link the A4 at Chiswick with the A13 at Beckton.

 

Mr Johnson has asked Transport for London to carry out detailed feasibility studies which, he says, could reduce congestion by up to 20% and save the London economy £1Bn a year. The Mayor is also looking to progress a series of smaller tunnels and 'flyunders' to move roads underground and release land for development. One such scheme is for a new riverside tunnel for the A13 at Barking.

 

He is also calling on Government to devolve revenue from Vehicle Excise Duty to London, so that money raised by motorists in the capital can be spent on roads in the city. He claims that none of the £500M raised through VED from vehicles registered in London every year is currently spent on the capital's highways.

 

And the Mayor has also confirmed that work on the Silvertown Tunnel could begin as early as 2018 and be opened by 2022.

 

Mr Johnson said: "London is booming and, as our great capital thrives, our ambitions for the veins and arteries that keep our city alive must grow with it. Around eight out of every 10 journeys in London are made using our roads, which is why it is vital we think big."

 

Transport for London's managing director of planning Richard de Cani added: "With London's population set to soar over the next few decades we need to take a different long term approach to how we use London's road space."

 

But London Assembly member Darren Johnson described the tunneling plans as completely out of step with the capital's shift away from car use. He said that Transport for London figures show that the number of car drivers in central London fell from 137,000 in 2000 to 64,000 in 2014, whereas the number of cyclists trebled to 36,000 over the same period.

 

"It is baffling that the Mayor is announcing plans for underground motorways in the city centre," he said. "Cyclists are the fastest growing group of road users in the capital so we need to build more cycle lanes, not road tunnels.

 

"In any case the enormous financial costs, the planning hurdles and the widespread public opposition mean these schemes would never see the light of day."