Rotherhithe-Tunnel
The Rotherhithe Tunnel [ rɒðəhaɪð ] is a tunnel in London. It is 1481 m long, crosses under the River Thames and connects the districts of Limehouse and Rotherhithe together. The tunnel serves the road and forms part of the main road A101. It was opened in 1908 by the then Prince of Wales, the future King George V.
Construction
It was designed by Maurice Fitzmaurice tunnel, the chief engineer of the London County Council. He had decided to build in 1900 with the adoption of a law, the Thames Tunnel ( Rotherhithe and Ratcliff ) Act, despite considerable opposition from local residents. Around 3,000 people had to be relocated due to construction.
The construction work began in 1904. Conducted they were of Engineering Edward H. Tabor and the company 's Price and Reeves, at a cost of around £ 1 million. The tunnel was built partly by shield tunneling, built partly by the open design. In the present entrance arches are around the edge of Bohrschilds the tunnel boring machine used at the time, which had a diameter of 9.35 meters and thus pretending the loading gauge.
Characteristics of the tunnel
The Rotherhithe Tunnel consists of a 1481 m long tunnel with a two-lane road. The maximum depth below the surface is 23 m. Four shafts were built to facilitate the construction work and to serve the vent. The two bays on the river bank received a spiral staircase to allow pedestrians access. Both are now closed and the only access for pedestrians is at the two tunnel portals.
Vehicles reach the tunnel on ramps that are open at the top and the walls are covered with bricks. After the tunnel portals is followed by a short section, which was built in an open design. The bored tunnel section between the wells 1 and 4 measures 1,125 meters and is lined with cast iron segments. During the tunnel, it was said that the Rotherhithe Tunnel was " the longest existing tunnel under a body of water ".
The Rotherhithe Tunnel was originally planned to accommodate the pedestrian and horse traffic between the docks on both sides of the river. For this reason, he has some special characteristics. The road is relatively narrow, the two lanes are only 2.4 per m wide, the sidewalks on both sides between 1.20 m and 1.80 m. The slope of the tunnel ramps is only 2.8%, to cope with non-motorized traffic. At the points where the tunnel passes under the river, there are relatively tight curves. This should prevent the horses saw the light of day too early at the other end and therefore possibly went through.
On the other hand obstructs adapted to the needs of horse-drawn route to motorized vehicle traffic of today. Large vehicles can not readily pass through the tight curves and therefore not allowed to use the tunnel. It is a speed limit of 20 mph (36 km / h), which is constantly monitored by cameras. A study in 2003 classified the Rotherhithe Tunnel, due to the lack of security measures as zehntgefährlichsten tunnel in Europe. Since the portals are close to the river bank, the tunnel is prone to flooding. For example, it was completely flooded during the flood in January 1928.
Use
Like the other tunnels and bridges in London also mastered the Rotherhithe Tunnel today far more traffic than was anticipated when the plans. Soon after the opening sailed it in 2600 vehicles per day. 1955 was the frequency 10,500 vehicles per day, more than 34,000 in 2005. Especially during rush hour are formed in the vicinity of the tunnel portals long traffic jams.
Cyclists is to use the tunnels allowed, but what is considered dangerous because of the fumes and the heavy volume of traffic. Alternatives are the Tower Bridge in the West or the Greenwich Foot Tunnel in the east. Pedestrians can use the tunnel, but make a day only about 20 of them use. Another way to get into this area to the other side of the river, is the East London Line. The Rotherhithe station located just outside the southern tunnel portal; the closest train station on the north side is Wapping.