Construction of a 35km long subterranean ring road in central London to relieve traffic congestion on the surface is being seriously considered by Boris Johnson.

The capital’s Mayor has asked Transport for London to carry out a detailed analysis to assess whether the plan is feasible and affordable. Such a scheme may cost £30Bn.

A map has been drawn showing the tunnel passing clockwise from Camden in the north to Highbury & Islington and Wapping, beneath the Thames to the Elephant & Castle and across to Battersea before passing under the river once more into west London.

The planned route then continues beneath Earl’s Court and the A40 Westway before heading round towards St John’s Wood and back to Camden. An eastern spur out to the A12 at Hackney Wick is also included in the plan. Ten vehicle entrances and exits to the tunnel have been proposed.

Deputy Mayor for Transport Isabel Dedring said: “One of the key recommendations of the Mayor’s independent roads task force was for London to look at road tunnelling projects that could transform parts of the city. TfL is now carrying out a detailed piece of work on this.

“We are at a very early stage, but other cities such as Paris, Oslo and Boston have undertaken these kinds of ambitious projects and have seen dramatic results.”

Transport for London’s managing director of planning Michele Dix added: “An inner orbital tunnel could help relieve longer term congestion and support growth. We will look to complete our assessment by the end of this year.”

Transport Planning Associates director David Knight MCIHT said: “This is shaping up to be one of those vanity projects that our industry often suffers from. It appears to be a scheme to increase road capacity in London and would lead to traffic growth and more congestion not less. Money should be spent on more sustainable forms of travel; extending public transport systems and solutions is critical here.”

London, he added, is in danger of undermining the good work of recent years with this “archaic solution from the days of ‘predict and provide’.”

(Photo: Sebastian-Julian)

To return to the newsletter, please close this window.