Sadiq Khan confirms Blackwall Tunnel will be tolled from 2025

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has confirmed that drivers will have to pay a toll to use the Blackwall tunnel from 2025.

East London's Blackwall tunnel is currently free to use but endures high traffic and congestion.

Silvertown Tunnel is being built to divert traffic from the Blackwall Tunnel and will open in 2025.

The plan is to toll the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels to prevent high traffic to a single tunnel.

The Silvertown tunnel is currently under construction and the tolling will also help pay for the work.

The building of the Silvertown tunnel is being privately funded in the short-term by Riverlinx.

The charges will be used to repay this, with any excess on top of the agreed charges invested in wider transport improvements, according to a spokesperson for the Mayor of London.

A submission for the potential signs was made to the Department for Transport earlier this week, which suggested that drivers could be paying £4 to use the tunnel.

However, Transport for London (TfL) said that the charges have not been finalised yet and any times and costs shown on draft signage submission are indicative to allow for approval to be obtained.

A TfL spokesperson said: "The final [decisions on] charges will be made ahead of the Silvertown Tunnel opening in 2025, once further modelling, including assessments on concessions, are completed."

The plan to toll Blackwall Tunnel was initially suggested when Boris Johnson was the Mayor of London.

The Blackwall Tunnel is the only major crossing of the Thames in east London.

Once built and opened, the Silvertown tunnel will be used to help manage traffic levels.

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