As an £11m lighting upgrade nears completion the Queensway Tunnel is to reopen at weekends and free tunnel tours are being held this weekend to mark its 90th anniversary. Tony McDonough reports
Drivers will be able to start using the Queensway Tunnel linking Liverpool and Birkenhead on Friday and Saturday nights as an £11m upgrade nears completion.
Partial closures of the tunnel began in June 2023 as the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority embarked on a project to install new energy efficient LED lights along its 2.1-mile length.
Now the upgrade is expected to be completed in the next few months and from Friday, July 26, the tunnel will be reopened to traffic on the two busiest nights of the week.
And this coming weekend Mersey Tunnels is offering free behind-the-scenes tours to mark 90 years since it was opened.
The route between Liverpool city centre and Birkenhead took nine years to build by hand and was the longest road tunnel in the world when it was opened by King George V on July 18, 1934.
Cllr Steve Foulkes, Chair of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Transport Committee, said: “For 90 years, the Queensway Tunnel has been connecting both sides of the river and has formed a crucial part of our history.
“It is a prime example of the benefits of devolution. Nearly 100 years ago, after lobbying and a refusal of central government, the local authorities created a joint committee and built the tunnels – an incredible engineering feat that has hugely impacted on the city region.
“The £11m lighting upgrade in the Queensway Tunnel is not only an important project for the on-going maintenance of the structure but is also a vital scheme in our pledge to make our city region net zero by 2035.”
The Combined Authority will be opening the doors to George’s Dock Building on Saturday 20 and Sunday, July 21 to offer visitors a free behind the scenes sneak peek of the Queensway Tunnel.
READ MORE: EasyJet launches two new Liverpool routes
Visitors will be welcomed from 10am and will have the chance to learn more about the history of the Queensway Tunnel, including hearing more about the men and women who have been involved historically in construction and maintaining the Queensway.
They will also find out how the tunnel is maintained and managed today, taking its life expectancy far beyond the initial proposed 100 years. Spaces on the tours are limited. Click here to book.