Boris Bypass below-ground route revealed
LONDON officials yesterday shed more light on where Boris Johnson’s planned £30bn underground ring road in central London would be built.
The inner orbital tunnel, which is in “the very early stage” of planning according to City Hall, could offer two underground river crossings for motorists and link up to Hackney Wick.
The Mayor of London set up a roads task force in 2012 to examine new ways to improve the city for motorists. Last summer, the panel recommended underground tunnels to take cars off the streets, claiming the plan would ease pressure on the existing Inner Ring Road and North/South Circular routes.
Deputy mayor for transport, Isabel Dedring, said in a statement that the project “is not about creating a motorway through the centre of London. It’s about freeing up capacity on the city surface, improving air quality and reclaiming space for public parks, pedestrians and cyclists.”
Transport for London has been working with the affected boroughs to sketch out the plan, which has not yet identified exact entry points to the tunnel. A more detailed proposal is expected by the end of the year.
The roads task force expects central London roads to become 60 per cent busier than 2007 levels by 2031, in spite of the congestion charge.