Transport for London (TfL) has shared the first insights about the impact on traffic of the new Silvertown Tunnel, as part of commissioner Andy Lord's latest report to the TfL Board.
Analysis of data between 21 April and 11 May shows the Silvertown and Blackwall tunnels are being used by an average of about 88,000 vehicles on a typical weekday. Of these, about 20,000 are using the Silvertown Tunnel.
Before the tunnel opened on 7 April, about 100,000 vehicles used the Blackwall Tunnel on weekdays. TfL said this fall in traffic had helped to ease congestion.
However, it said it was aware of some increased traffic volumes at other river crossings, including the Woolwich Ferry.
The £2.2bn Silvertown Tunnel stretches almost a mile (1.4km) under the River Thames from Greenwich to Newham.
Motorists using the tunnel – the first new road crossing of the Thames east of Tower Bridge in more than three decades – must pay a toll to use it, as is also now the case for those using the nearby Blackwall Tunnel.
