Blackwall Tunnel gets £70million refurbishment

Work will be carried out at night by contractor BAM Nuttall from February 7 to allow new fire and incident detection systems, better emergency service access and new CCTV to be installed.

As a result, northbound traffic will be diverted through the southbound lane between 9pm and 5am from Sunday to Friday. The speed limit will be reduced from 30mph to 20mph, and monitored with average speed cameras.

A TfL spokesman said: "Anyone travelling from the O2 will not be affected, but southbound traffic will need to plan another route, such as through the Rotherhithe or Dartford tunnels.

"The 20mph limit will be in force because there are a lot of chicanes and we have to have a slower speed so we can get the traffic through safely."

During the works, the 108 bus will operate in two sections between 9pm and 1am. It will run from Lewisham to North Greenwich, and Stratford to Canning Town. London Underground will accept bus tickets between North Greenwich and Canning Town, enabling users to connect via the Jubilee line. The bus will be escorted through the tunnel every half hour between 1am and 5am, and northbound traffic will be halted to allow this to occur.

The tunnel accommodates around 50,000 vehicles a day, and TfL says it has consulted boroughs, businesses and key stakeholders such as The O2 about the move. It has advised those wanting information about the works to contact its TfL Streets Customer Services on 0845 305 1234 or email londonstreets@tfl.gov.uk

Chief operating officer for streets Garrett Emmerson said: "We are doing everything we can to ensure the refurbishment of the tunnel is carried out with the minimum disruption to road users, and we ask people to bear with us while these important safety improvements are carried out."