Construction of the new twin-bore road tunnel is scheduled to start in 2019
Three European contractor giants have been shortlisted to design, finance, build and maintain the Silvertown Tunnel, the new twin-bore road tunnel proposed for east London.
One from the trio of firms 鈥� Germany鈥檚 Hochtief Solutions; Spanish-headquartered firm Cintra Global, and Swedish joint venture Skansa Strabag 鈥� will be selected by this autumn.
The tunnel will connect the A102 near the south-side entrance to the Blackwall Tunnel on the Greenwich Pensinsula with the Lower Lea Crossing on the other side of the Thames.
Construction is scheduled to start in 2019, subject to final planning approval by ministers.
The tunnel, which is projected to open four years later in 2023, will have a strong public transport focus, helping to facilitate an additional 37 buses an hour across the Thames each day.
Leon Daniels, managing director of surface transport at TfL, said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 great to see such a strong shortlist of bidders for the new Silvertown Tunnel.
鈥淭he tunnel will be essential to help tackle congestion and reliability in east and south east London, as well as transform cross-river bus services and support planned growth across the wider area.鈥�
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