Tunnel works get final approval
Closures of the Greenwich and Woolwich foot tunnels are now just weeks away following a decision to approve a £9million tender for their refurbishment.
At a meeting on Tuesday the council's cabinet gave the thumbs up for Dean & Dyball Limited to carry out the works, which will take about year.
The aims of the works are to replace many of the lifts, improve lighting and make structural repairs.
A report by the project's architects Sheppard Robson described the tunnels as "London landmarks" that had been "neglected for too long".
It said they "exhibit timeless qualities that testify to the enterprise, endeavour and ambition of the engineering age," but that works were needed to provide for "better accessibility, improved safety and a more welcoming uplifting environment".
The glass is being replaced on the rotundas, while the lights are being "maintained and enhanced" to act as a beacon "advertising the tunnel".
Plans are also to have floor lights leading to the tunnel, as well as lighting on a series of trees near to the tunnel entrances.
The lifts will be unmanned but the council has promised increased CCTV to maintain safety and said they will be open for 24 hours a day.
The council has announced the works will begin at the end of March and has decided to close the Greenwich tunnel in the evenings, between 9pm and 6am. This will impact on about 175 people a night.
The Woolwich tunnel will only be closed during the day when the ferry service is running so users have an alternative way to get across the river.
A Thames Clippers service runs between Greenwich Pier and Mast Pond until 1am but the council is unlikely to get this subsidised for tunnel users as had been suggested.
The council has also approached Transport for London for funds for a subsidised crossing between 1am and 6am.
The £9million cost of refurbishing the tunnels is coming from a central government fund which was approved in December 2008.
The Greenwich tunnel was built in 1902 and Woolwich opened in 1912. The tunnels are used by around two million people each year.
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The Greenwich foot tunnel needs smartening up, nobody would disagree with that, but this grandiose scheme is way over the top. It's as if the planners are spending money for the sake of it. Worst aspect is the plan to install ever changing mood lighting in the bore itself; this is a working tunnel to get locals and tourists across the river, not some kind of Disney experience.