Kingsway Tunnel

Not to be confused with Kingsway tramway subway.

Kingsway Tunnel
Overview
The Liverpool Entrance of the Kingsway Tunnel
Location	Merseyside, England
Status	Active
Route	Kingsway Tunnel
Start	Liverpool, Merseyside
End	Wallasey, Merseyside
Operation
Opened	24 June 1971
Owner	Merseytravel
Traffic	Automotive
Technical
Construction	1966-1971
Number of lanes	4 (2 in eastbound, 2 westbound)

The Kingsway Tunnel (or Wallasey Tunnel) is a toll road tunnel under the River Mersey between Liverpool and Wallasey. The 1.5 mi (2.4 km) 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 post-war traffic.

Construction

The project was authorised by the Mersey Tunnel (Liverpool/Wallasey) etc. Act 1965. Edmund Nuttall Limited began work in 1966.^[1] 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.

Operations

Kingsway comprises identical twin tubes. Each has two 3.7 m (12 ft) wide lanes. They carry on average 45,000 vehicles a day (almost 16.4million per year).^[2] A single car journey through the tunnel currently costs £1.70 (2015).^[3] Manned and automatic tollbooths are located on the Wallasey side. Of the two tunnels crossing the River Mersey, Kingsway is the only tunnel able to take HGVs.

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 only eight to receive that rating in Europe.^[4]

References

↑ ICE Virtual Tour
↑ "MERSEY CROSSING STUDY - The Mersey Gateway Project" (PDF). http://www.merseygateway.co.uk/. Retrieved 29 September 2014. External link in |publisher= (help)
↑ "Mersey Tunnels: Tolls, Fees and Charges".
↑ "THE EUROPEAN TUNNEL ASSESSMENT PROGRAMME (EUROTAP) 2005 INSPECTIONS" (PDF). http://www.theaa.com. Retrieved 29 September 2014. External link in |publisher= (help)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kingsway Tunnel.

Official website

Next crossing upstream	River Mersey	Next crossing downstream
Queensway Tunnel	Kingsway Tunnel	None

Buildings and structures in Liverpool, England

Skyscrapers and highrises (over 60m)	1 Princes Dock Alexandra Tower Beetham Tower Mann Island Buildings Municipal Buildings New Hall Place One Park West The Plaza Port of Liverpool Building Post & Echo Building Radio City Tower Royal Liver Building Thistle Atlantic Tower Unity Commercial Unity Residential West Tower

Notable lowrises	Albert Dock Alder Hey Children's Hospital Bank of England Bluecoat Chambers Britannia Adelphi Hotel Chinese Arch County Sessions House Crowne Plaza LJLA Cunard Building Empire Theatre Everyman Theatre Grand Central Hall Great North Western Hotel Hargreaves Building Homeopathic Hospital India Buildings International Slavery Museum Liverpool Central Library Liverpool Cotton Exchange Building Liverpool Magistrates' Court Liverpool Playhouse Liverpool Town Hall Liverpool Women's Hospital The Lyceum Malmaison Merseyside Maritime Museum Museum of Liverpool National Conservation Centre Oratory Oriel Chambers Philharmonic Hall Prudential Assurance Building Queen Elizabeth II Law Courts Royal Court Theatre Royal Insurance Building Royal Liverpool University Hospital Speke Hall Stanley Dock Tobacco Warehouse St. George's Hall Tate Liverpool Tower Buildings Victoria Building Walker Art Gallery White Star Building World Museum Liverpool

Places of worship	All Saints' Church Al-Rahma Mosque Church of All Hallows Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas Church of St Agnes and St Pancras Church of St Clare German Church Greek Orthodox Church of St Nicholas Gustav Adolf Church Liverpool Cathedral Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral Norwegian Fishermans' Church Old Christ Church The Oratory Princes Road Synagogue St George's Church Saint John the Baptist's Church St Luke's Church St Luke's Church, Walton St Michael's Church Toxteth Unitarian Chapel Ullet Road Unitarian Church Welsh Presbyterian Church

Transportation	Liverpool Coach Station Liverpool One bus station James Street station Kingsway Tunnel Liverpool Central station Liverpool John Lennon Airport Liverpool Lime Street station Liverpool South Parkway station Mersey Railway Tunnel Moorfields station Queensway Tunnel

Shopping complexes	Clayton Square Shopping Centre Lewis's Liverpool ONE Metquarter New Mersey Shopping Park St. John's Shopping Centre

Sports venues and arenas	Anfield Echo Arena Goodison Park Liverpool Cricket Club O2 Academy Liverpool Wavertree Athletics Centre

Sculptures and monuments	Nelson Monument Steble Fountain Superlambanana Titanic Memorial Victoria Monument Wellington's Column Public art

Lists	Listed buildings in Liverpool List of tallest buildings and structures in Liverpool

Category Commons

Coordinates: 53°24′47″N 3°00′36″W / 53.413°N 3.010°W / 53.413; -3.010

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, November 06, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.