Around 1,000 cyclists descended on the newly opened Silvertown Tunnel in a protest calling for greater road safety amid anger it has no bike lane.
Riders from Critical Mass London swarmed the northbound entrance near the O2 Arena in “a mass trespass” on Friday night.
Entering from the Old Kent Road, they took over both lanes near North Greenwich and blocked incoming motorists.
The ride through the tunnel took about 10 minutes before the cyclists moved off towards Poplar.
But on X, formerly Twitter, people reported that the road was closed for over an hour after they had left.
The £2.2bn Silvertown tunnel - opened by London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan earlier this month - has faced criticism from transport pressure groups for its lack of provisions for cyclists and pedestrians.
Car drivers pay up to £4 to use the first new road crossing under the River Thames in 58 years.
Cyclists are not allowed to ride through the mile-long twin-bore Silvertown tunnel and have to use a “bike bus” shuttle service in both directions that will be free to use for at least a year.
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Campaigners say this is “inadequate and adds unnecessary time and emissions to what should be a sustainable journey”.
Local residents in Greenwich, Newham and surrounding boroughs argue the tunnel will bring additional noise and pollution from both expanded and diverted traffic, with motorists choosing different crossing points to avoid paying the toll.
There were 95 road deaths in London in 2023, down from 102 in 2022. The 2023 total included eight cyclist deaths.
Provisional figures published by Transport for London for 2024 indicate a sharp increase in road fatalities.
TfL has recorded 110 road fatalities in 2024 as a “Stats 19” death – an official designation used by the Department for Transport and police forces.
But the total number of fatalities for 2024 increases to 130 using a wider definition that includes incidents where people have died in a vehicle that has left the road, for example the triple fatality crash at Staples Corner near Brent Cross.
The Metropolitan Police was approached for comment.
A TfL spokesman said: “Cycling is not allowed in the Blackwall or Silvertown Tunnel for safety reasons.
“A cycle shuttle service operates through the Silvertown Tunnel and offers a safe connection for cyclists through the tunnel between Silvertown and North Greenwich.
“During this incident, we had to close the tunnel to all traffic until it was safe to reopen again, impacting drivers and bus passengers who would use the tunnel.”
