Kingsway Tunnel


The Kingsway Tunnel is a toll road tunnel under the River Mersey between Liverpool and Wallasey. The tunnel carries the A59. It was built because the Queensway Tunnel – which was built in the 1930s to carry vehicles between Birkenhead and Liverpool – was unable to cope with the rise in postwar traffic.

Construction

The project was authorised by the Mersey Tunnel etc. Act 1965. Edmund Nuttall Limited began work in 1966. Construction took five years to complete. The approach to the tunnel on the Wirral side uses the former railway cutting that carried the Seacombe branch line. It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 24 June 1971. At first, only the southernmost tube was open for traffic, one lane in each direction. The northernmost tube was completed in 1974 and opened to traffic on 13 February 1974.

Operations

Kingsway comprises identical twin tubes. Each has two lanes. They carry on average 45,000 vehicles a day., a single car journey through the tunnel currently costs £1.80. Staffed and automatic tollbooths are located on the Wallasey side. Of the two tunnels crossing the River Mersey, Kingsway is the only one able to take heavy goods vehicles.
In a study following the fire in the Mont Blanc Tunnel in 1999, inspectors from the European Union rated the Kingsway Tunnel as "good", one of fourteen to receive that rating in Europe.
Over of wiring was installed in the tunnel as part of a 2016 upgrade to the lighting, which saw the tunnel fitted with more energy efficient and longer-lasting LED lights.