Motorists paying to drive through the Silvertown tunnel will help to fund improvements in public transport elsewhere in the capital, according to Transport for London.
The Standard was among a group of journalists invited to see inside the £2.2bn twin-bore tunnel on Monday, a week ahead of its opening.
About 25,000 vehicle journeys a day are expected once the tunnel – which will link North Greenwich with Canning Town and the Royal Docks - opens on Monday April 7.
Drivers will pay a peak rate of £4 per crossing and £1.50 off-peak, with no charge between 10pm and 6am.
This is expected to generate in excess of £100m a year. But TfL itself stands to make only about £3m a year “profit” from the tunnel tolls – and £180 penalty fines for drivers who fail to pay – because the cost of repaying the Silvertown bill is so huge.
David Rowe, TfL’s director of investment planning, said: “The first thing we will be doing is repaying the cost of the tunnel. It’s a PFI-type scheme. We repay those costs over 25 years.
“Any other amounts left over will be reinvested in transport in London. We have got exciting future plans for the DLR to Thamesmead, which we are really keen to take forward.”
He said it was a “game changer” in terms of cross-river bus connections. Two buses – the SL4 Superloop and the 129 bus – will run through Silvertown, and the 108 will continue to operate via the Blackwall tunnel.
“We can support more trips, but we are not supporting new traffic – the user charge is an important part of we manage traffic to ensure we don’t attract more cars into this part of London.”
London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan inherited the Silvertown tunnel proposals from his predecessor as mayor, Boris Johnson, but decided to press ahead with a slightly modified scheme, in the face of objections from environmental campaigners and some Labour councils.
Anti-Silvertown campaigners believe the new tunnel will “induce” new traffic rather than taking away demand from Blackwall.
They are also concerned about the potential for collisions on the south side of the river, where vehicles travelling south through the two tunnels begin to merge.
It will be the first time that tolls have been introduced at Blackwall tunnel, which links the A12 and A12, in its 130-year history.
Mr Rowe said: "For many decades, east London has been plagued by the Blackwall [tunnel] being unreliable.
“The Silvertown resolves those issues. It provides an alternative to Blackwall, to take away the queuing, and the environmental and economic impacts that queuing has, and provides a reliable alternative when we do need to close Blackwall.
Asked if TfL was proud of the scheme, Mr Rowe said: “We are absolutely proud of this scheme. It offers many, many benefits to this part of London in terms of improving the environment, resolving the issues of constant queuing at Blackwall and providing that reliable means of being able to cross the river.”
Southwark council had raised concerns that Rotherhithe tunnel could be used by motorists looking to avoid the new charge at Blackwall tunnel.
The City of London Corporation fears a knock-on impact on Tower Bridge, while National Highways is concerned that more traffic may used the Dartford Crossings on the M25, which at £2.50 per crossing will be cheaper than the Blackwall and Silvertown crossings at peak times.
TfL said that without a peak charge the tunnels would not be able to improve traffic flow. It claims that drivers travelling at peak times will see their journeys reduced by 20 minutes.
There will be 50 per cent toll discounts for low-income residents of 13 east and south-east London boroughs and for small businesses.
However, motorists wanting to qualify for the off-peak discount and other reductions must sign up in advance to TfL’s Auto Pay system.
