The $2.8BN Megaproject Dividing London

[@TheB1M]

Head to brilliant.org/TheB1M/ for a 30-day free trial + the first 200 people will receive 20% off their annual subscription 🙌 🏗

[@benedicz]

Can you do a video on how the flood walls😢 of Venice were constructed, the ones that mechanically pull up in the ocean

[@jonevansauthor]

Love that you could barely keep a straight face delivering the line about breathtakingly beautiful docklands :D

[@oldestpartofheaven]

have you heard of the new bridge over the kiel channel? they're replacing a bridge in germany on the A7 / E45 right beside the old bridge, which has to come down in 2 years - maybe thats a nice story for you!

[@alexwainwright3592]

Only showing 7 day trial :/

[@Th3_Gael]

What's with the mixed units? Story in Britain, priced in US dollar, measured in km

[@MuddyRavine]

I would really like to see follow ups to these videos, like maybe a year after the tunnel opens, to see if the project achieved the desired goals. Like, does this tunnel actually alleviate congestion? Have emissions been reduced?

[@quadtwist]

It will not. Never in the history of road building has building a road resulted on less traffic or congestion.

[@benclarkson4205]

The channel could go back indefinitely and assess that exact point for past projects. I’ve even come up with a name… The B1M:Rewinded 🥇

[@GLJosh]

@@benclarkson4205 Or The B1M:ReMinded?

[@douglasrogers3918]

The lesson is that this will create increased conjestion in the rest of London. This is the wrong project to solve the need to allow more peopel to move around London.

[@memesfamilyguyandtvshows]

?𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝟹 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜

[@northseawolf]

London needs to vastly expand its TfL tube/rail network, both feeding central, plus orbital cross river points, especially downriver of Woolwich/Charlton.

[@-Osiris-]

Are you going to pay for it? No one disputes the fact that London needs to expand its transport network, the problem is money.

[@joshmarsh2532]

That would be nice. But that money would be ten times better spent literally anywhere else in the UK and I say that as a Londoner. Leeds in the largest city in Europe without mass transit

[@Jake_5693]

@@joshmarsh2532The 15 biggest cities should all have fully funded tram networks. Something truly transformative.

[@domtweed7323]

@@Jake_5693 We should have an automatic bus -> rail conversion budget. When a bus line reaches a certain amount of users it becomes a tram line. When that reaches a certain number of users its converted into either an underground or elevated metro. And, when that's not enough, the platforms get extended and it becomes a regular train (like Thameslink/Crossrail).

[@-Osiris-]

@@Jake_5693 Trams are trash, and I used to live in Croydon so I would know. They are the bad elements of rail and buses combined. We need more underground heavy rail not trams. Sadly, trams are cheaper so that's all the non London cities will ever get.

[@tccandler]

2.8 billion London tunnel project that takes years to build and won't solve much = Thursday afternoon side project in China.

[@ZyNeEnZyNe]

Yeah but we don't have access to slave labour from minorities and children operating factories to build parts

[@ricequackers]

True, but I've got more faith the London one won't start leaking a few months in.

[@readabookdummy]

yh all those safety regulations and that pesky minimum wage…China have it better😂

[@jswmonkey197]

Yes but how long to build the submarines that would be needed to use it though?

[@dickgrayson4237]

​@@ricequackersYeah it won't leak cause it will never be made lol

[@user-rc4qh3lp7h]

A tunnel with three lanes entering it and one lane exiting it. That should ease congestion alright

[@martinlewis967]

Sounds like a funnel

[@melontusk9660]

Someone asked for a tunnel but typed funnel instead

[@walther2492]

"...just one more lane..."

[@AndrewPBentley]

I wonder how many of these upvotes you're getting are clueless folks who think "just one more lane" is a good idea.

[@3DLL.]

@@AndrewPBentley he is clueless making crap up how about we stop spending money on crap we don't need and help us workers out who keep this country running and get people of the streets help the poor out get them motivated make them feel better this country is fucked and depressing f*** this government muppets on a string the lot of them

[@walther2492]

@@AndrewPBentley I'm pretty sure that most of them know what is meant. A few might not.

[@d.b.cooper1]

Sad thing is despite all the efforts to curb congestion via daily congestion charges/ULEZ etc, the demand still exists for these measures to ease congestion. The former policies are already deeply unpopular so can't be expanded hence the need to at least try ease congestion the old way. Funny thing is most the people who make policies like ULEZ etc political & are outraged...live hundreds of miles away & never visit London...and when they do it's always by train & tube lol. The mayor sadly simply doesn't have the political capital to force more changes beyond ULEZ which was already a tough battle. As was congestion charge for mayor before him. I say tax the idiots who moan on twitter...then again most of them have *other* issues with the mayor...

[@u1zha]

@@AndrewPBentley And I wonder how many of these upvotes come from people who think that railways can deliver goods to shops and warehouses just fine and with lower emissions

[@noegenesis]

Congrats on π million subscribers! Great video as always, keep up the great work :)

[@zapfanzapfan]

Fitting, pi-day is soon.

[@moviewoodworld]

😂yes​@@zapfanzapfan

[@wabash1581]

Thank you for continuing to find these projects to talk about. I really do enjoy your style of story telling.

[@minecrafter0505]

Ah yes, the classic "Let's build more roads to reduce cars". It'll take maybe a year or two until congestion is at old levels again.

[@acceleratedsloth]

There is just a minor completely unimportant detail in the number of people being transported. No, it will NOT be the same.

[@cherryslat5702]

This is true but East London is terribly served by river crossings. Having more options for people to cross further down stream will reduce cars having to go further towards the centre to cross. If they were just widening a road I would fully agree but since this is adding a whole new crossing in an area with far less than the west I think it's different.

[@REDnBLACKnRED]

@@acceleratedsloth Completely nullified by the increase in population of the city. Ultimately, nothing changes.

[@samjl4]

Induced demand is the word you’re looking for, the most ignored phenomenon in city planning.

[@kirkrotger9208]

​@@acceleratedslothExcept we should be reducing the number of car trips, not increasing them. If you're going to spend the money, spend it on transit or bike infrastructure, not cars.

[@romanwalchli8550]

What news. A road for motor vehicles that is intended to solve the traffic problem. Exactly my sense of humor!

[@MemesnShet]

Ohhh THE B1M was in my area wow Glad to see they are making such a big and interesting project here to even warrant the attention of this channel

[@randlerobbertson8792]

Nice to see 'levelling up' continues apace.

[@nickbrigg5203]

They bored two tunnels for vehicles, why didn't they spin it round again and do another pass for pedestrians and bikes?!?

[@kumbackquatsta]

we don't want poor people getting access

[@Noname123rr]

😂😂😂

[@sriramc5329]

They won't pay juicy tolls like vehicles do

[@r3dp1ll]

If you cycle or walk you're not really affected by congestion.

[@harenterberge2632]

​@@r3dp1ll but more people walking and cycling will reduce congestion.

[@timothycooper8624]

I may have been distracted by the black cab turning on the bridge at 1:53 in the video. Where is he going? Is he allowed to u-turn on the middle of a bridge?

[@tom-jj5em]

looks like he has a fare on the other side of the road

[@Hhhh22222-w]

He aims to challenge the status quo set by the government and assert his freedom of movement, God bless America!

[@pauly5418]

If there is a toll fee for use of the tunnel, the other nearby free tunnels will still be congested because nobody will want to pay especially if they would have to use it regularly.

[@d.b.cooper1]

Thankfully they're also intorudcing fees for The Blackwall tunnel from 2025 with what the mayor has proposed. I still firmly believe no one really needs to use these tunnels bar black cabs & commercial vehicles. Any fool who uses such a route desveres to pay & even then it's likely a one off rare journey.

[@virgiltracey9130]

@@d.b.cooper1. And how else are vehicles going from the south to the east supposed to cross the Thames? It’s not just about access from one side of London to the other, but across the eastern side of the country. If they’d dealt with this issue forty years ago when they first talked about it, we could have avoided years of congestion

[@dressrosacr7]

​@d.b.cooper1 how can you say them adding tolls to the Blackwall Tunnel as a good thing, its a terrible thing

[@gegwen7440]

@@d.b.cooper1 Just shows your ignorance of the area & issues.

[@afctaylor12]

You do realise that any business will just pass the cost on to customers. It's London adding 3 pound on to the goods not going change much

[@hpsauce1078]

I was sure when reading the title that this was going to be a video about the Tideway project, on a similar vein to the video about Paris from the Impossible Build channel earlier this week, you should cover that one day, its arguably the most impressive project currently taking place in London.

[@DavidKnowles0]

Also due to be completed next year I believe.

[@starbarrothschild6597]

Thames Tideway Tunnel ( TTT) also known as Transporting Tomorrows Turds.

[@ricearoni5975]

You should check out the HRBT Expansion project in Virginia. It is a section of i64 that connects Hampton and Norfolk and goes underneath one of the busiest shipping lanes in the country and allows access to the world's largest naval base (Naval Station Norfolk) The area has almost no public transit and this crossing is the only one that many people can take as the next closest (the MMBT) goes to the opposite side of town. The congestion currently is terrible, sometimes over an hour of being stuck. This project has it all...bridges, under water tunnel boring, man made islands, flood mitigation, all while the existing bridge tunnel stays in operation as the only way to get from one side to the other.

[@awAtercoLorstaIn.]

Ah yes… the world famous congestion in the world famous city of Hampton. Something everyone knows and cares about. Finally.

[@MrMatavelhas]

"Worked hard to discourage car usage" yeah... for sure mate! Those price increases are true bargains!

[@Bobspineable]

It has tolls, it surely will discourage a decent amount.

[@NitroNuggetTV]

@@Bobspineable Sad bit is that the Blackwall tunnel will follow suit in getting its own toll, so people with no choice will be out of pocket for doing something that was sustainably free for decades. This will effect everyone but disproportionately the poor. The are no other feasible options to get your car/van across the Thames in that part of London. East London doesn't even have proper train links across the Thames, so they don't exactly have any other options than their car. This move is extortion and a total disgrace.

[@Chris-bc6ny]

@@Bobspineable It will just move the traffic to the Rotherhithe tunnel and tower bridge.. Only way to discourage central London traffic is to make the dartford crossing free at the same time, that would divert any traffic away from these tunnels that is not going to London. There are few crossings this side of London, which is what causes it to be so congested there... the charging will just move the congestion into London rather than improve traffic.

[@judemichaelhanna4867]

What an amazing project.. reminds me a bit of 'The Big Dig' in Boston..

[@segawalilac]

I live nearby and take the DLR daily to work and have been seeing the construction progress. We received many leaflets on anti-Silvertown tunnel. I am personally not against the tunnel, Greenwich has many useful facilities and shops, however, there is no good direct route (either drive via Blackwall Tunnel or take a detour to Woolwich on the DLR and bus towards North Greenwich). Extra traffic and pollution is a concern to the area, but most existing residents chose to live under the flight path of London City Airport. I would welcome more direct bus routes to the south of the river using the new tunnels.

[@BritishBeachcomber]

Busses used to go through the Blackwell Tunnel. I used that route as a kid. Two batches of double deck buses were specifically built for use in the Blackwall and Rotherhithe Tunnels, with specially shaped roofs to improve clearance on the corners.

[@joshuajackson6685]

Absolute madness that London gets more money for a big infrastructure project while we in the north are ignored. Criminal.

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

London didn't get any government funding from any level for this tunnel. It will be entirely privately funded

[@joshuajackson6685]

@@Gfynbcyiokbg8710 interesting. How do you know this? Seems like an odd thing to be funded privately.

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

@@joshuajackson6685 I just looked it up 😂 And its not that strange that it's privately funded. TfL can't afford it, the government doesn't want to spend that much more in London, and it means less criticism about cost or usefulness.

[@joshuajackson6685]

@@Gfynbcyiokbg8710 fair enough ✌️. We still need more investment up here though

[@wobby1516]

It may surprise you to know that back in the 60s / 70s there was indeed a double decker red London bus that went through the old Blackwall tunnel when it was two way traffic. The bus had a special sloping roof on the LHS to accommodate the tunnels curvature..

[@eveningrice]

I lived in the Royal Docks, and I know how horrible it is to try and get from North to South and vice versa. Yes we do need more public transportation and cycling options, but we also desperately need another tunnel like this. In that area there are very limited options to cross.

[@obinneji]

what road have they ever added in london that made traffic better? The problem is too many cars

[@gmtom19]

Ive lived in silvertown and now live in Greenwich. Getting to the other side of the river is super easy. Its called "the tube".

[@Potato_Smuggler]

​@obinneji There aren't even decent transport options because of lack of crossings. I live in the east and when I needed to to cross the river, I had to take a bus to Woolwich tunnel, cross it on foot and take another bus on the other side. Extremely inconvenient.

[@obinneji]

@@Potato_Smuggler fair point!

[@campbellsadeghy213]

@@obinnejidepends on how you define making traffic better. You could argue the same thing with mass transit if you think it’s a failure because the network has to be expanded or improved ever again. This won’t solve congestion issues you won’t ever do that. But it will help. I love cars and want to drive. If you want to take mass transit great. I support expanding public transit but I also support expanding our road system.

[@beachbum4691]

Just checking that I'm subscribed, and I am, that all that matters, ticks box, another brilliant video, so much work in Fred's videos they're always incredible...

[@TheB1M]

Yes, KZbin is turning my hair grey.

[@Roger-vz7ol]

KZbin is turning everybody's hair grey. 🙃

[@Delvy787]

Brilliant content as always

[@TheB1M]

Thanks so much!

[@chillout1109]

So, why did they not include pedestrian and cycling facilities again?

[@Hhhh22222-w]

That's for sissies and babies, real men drive cars

[@Bobspineable]

You can’t charge tolls on pedestrians, meaning you have to take a bus or ferry.

[@ibuybritish]

Additional expense. It’s not really suitable for pedestrians either due to the length and availability of other easier options (tube/boat)

[@AndrewN75]

Pedestrians and cyclists are not allowed as the noise and exhaust pollution levels are horrendous as in the Rotherhithe, Limehouse and existing Blackwall tunnels. The scenery isn't great either!

[@MM-mq5uj]

love the video! Amazing works taking place in London!

[@nothereandthereanywhere]

A tiny correction, Road Tax was abolished in 1937. Polluting(ineligible for exemption) cars pay VED

[@dailysleaze]

It triggered me too 😂

[@djpalmer31]

I came here to say that too!

[@d.b.cooper1]

Yeah but everyone calls it road tax bar the neeks above so....

[@Pyritie]

🤓☝

[@blahblah24304]

Ha! Best me too it. I was seeing if anyone else pointed it out. It's an important distinction as the incorrect assumption that drivers pay for roads leads to marginalisation and, in some cases aggressively dangerous behaviour to other road users.

[@AntiProZH]

Thanks for this video Fred and Team - as someone who used to regularly use the Blackwall tunnel, this project is welcome (albeit I wish I could have benefitted, travelling Northbound any time before 11pm was just a time drain). It will be interesting to see how much they charge, for both Silvertown and Blackwall tunnels it looks like. I'd have been happy to pay if it saved me c. 40 minutes + on a bad day...

[@TheByard]

The M6 toll road has lower than expected vehicle flows.

[@DragonsAndDragons777]

This is a really expensive and elaborate Dune 2 promotion

[@TheRailwayDrone]

Absolutely WONDERFUL video. I'm usually not a follower of road projects (hence the name), but this project is indescribable. Every time I go to London, I take the tube. All this time not knowing London had a road tunnel makes me question my life. It is absolutely INCREDIBLE they were able to rotate ONE TBM to the opposite direction in order to bore the second hole. Sometimes I wish I worked in construction instead of IT.

[@domramsey]

Creating new roads never, ever leads to a reduction in traffic. Creating cycle lanes and increasing public transport does. I think it's disgraceful this thing doesn't at least have a protected cycle lane in each direction.

[@a1white]

Yes, pedestrian and cycling routes are terrible currently north to south here. Woolwich foot tunnel had had the north lift out of order for 2 years now. outside of the Ferry times (which is a slow alternative anyway) you have to carry your bike up/down 125 steps. Frustrating with the size of that tunnel and the cost, they couldn't fit a cycling route alongside

[@acceleratedsloth]

What is traffic?

[@NmpK24]

That's not true. Recently TFL created cycle lanes just off the north circular road on the A1000 (Great North Road). This reduced it from two lanes to one causing much congestion. And the cycle lanes? Nobody used them. So much so TFL ended up removing all of them. Cycle lanes might work in some central areas but not everywhere.

[@liamness]

Agreed, this is particularly true when you consider there is *nothing* for cyclists east of Tower Bridge (tunnels and ferries don't count imo). If they were building this *and* the previously proposed crossing between Rotherhithe and Canary Wharf for pedestrians and cyclists, it would be a lot easier to take. But instead they're adding an extra crossing for cars where there were already quite a few decent options for drivers. This is only going to result in more light vans doing deliveries that could be done by cargo bike.

[@a1white]

@@NmpK24Who is talking about the Great North Road?! Talk about distraction. We are talkng about a route across the Thames for those other than driving. 11 mile detour to currently cycle across the thames at this point. Why are we building another tunnel for motorised traffic here that doesn't benefit pedestrians or cyclists? I see lots of cyclists routinely carring bikes up and down the 100's of stairs on the foot tunnels (nice if you're fit and strong enough to be able to do that). There is clearly a demand here.

[@ReedmanFL]

The fundamental transportation problem can be understood in less than one minute by doing the following: 1) pull up a copy of the London Tube map 2) look at how much of The Tube system is north of the river versus how much is south of the river

[@appytight8468]

South of the river there is a long-established and extensive overground and elevated rail network. Tunnel building in South London is much more difficult and expensive than north of the Thames due to the different nature of the soil, which in the south is composed of water-bearing sand and gravel (very bad for tunnelling)

[@KofieBluejay]

See you in 20 years when it’s not gonna be enough because this is a well documented phenomenon that this will never change a thing. But great engineering feat though!

[@LIETUVIS10STUDIO1]

I can only hope one day it's converted into a tube line or a cycle path

[@campbellsadeghy213]

Bet you don’t comment the same thing on public transit projects.

[@KingFinnch]

@@campbellsadeghy213thats the whole point, public transport is so much more efficient that this barely happens

[@gan247]

20 years? You’re too optimistic.

[@Hhhh22222-w]

​@@campbellsadeghy213name one western project that took 20 years and still isnt built

[@DraconaiMac]

Really good video! Your videos are always so clear and well explained. Loved the cable car view of the progress/problem.

[@michaelmains6785]

Fun fact: this was not the largest tbm U-turn, that award goes to the Liantang tunnel in Hong Kong, which was a 14.1m diameter (Silverton tbm is 12m diameter). Another fun fact, they will also be using this U-turn technique on the lower thames crossing project (the tbm on that project will be over 16m diameter and is the same contractor as liantang).

[@southcalder]

At first I thought, “why no pedestrian or cycle access”, then I remembered that The Boris Zipline exists above it!

[@thepetermullins]

Anyone else hear "Hardest U-turn" and thought it was a video on HS2? Just me?

[@stevielegrand]

You speak and present superbly well, thank you for being both finely measured and really interesting.

[@baystated]

Why is the price tag of a London infrastructure project expressed in USA Dollars and not UK Pounds?

[@willythemailboy2]

Most of the audience isn't in the UK, and the rest of the world either uses US dollars or is more used to translating their local currency into US dollars rather than pounds.

[@AtillatheFun]

Please do a video on projects like this and induced demand. Looking at previous projects would really help people understand the little impact this will make.

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

This situation is quite unique tho

[@jack_walt]

I read a while back (might be different now) that London gets 24 times more money invested on infrastructure per resident than other parts of the UK. These mega projects are cool, but it is kinda sad I’ve never seen a UK-based BM1 video on anywhere else but London.

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

They've done one on Manchester, and one on the Forth Bridges. Also its about twice as much on general public spending and 2-4x as much on transport

[@ASK-hn3di]

Probably because the population in Manchester is 1M whilst London is 9M. London is tiny for what it is, packed with people. You cannot compare the two.

[@blue7lvn245]

London should be a city state lol rest of the UK is broke

[@NitroNuggetTV]

I agree with you on an emotional level, but its mostly because London makes up around a quarter of the entire countries economy if I'm not mistaken. No bad for a city that makes up less than 1% of the UKs land mass. They have to invest in their most important asset otherwise the whole country will suffer economically

[@jack_walt]

@@NitroNuggetTV surely there’s also an argument that investment elsewhere also has economic benefits. A basic investment strategy is to diversify and spread your risk. In my head at least, it makes sense to invest evenly across the country to create lots of little economic centres rather than having one big one

[@phoenixrerising]

Every morning I have my breakfast with an interesting engineering video just like yours. Thank you for creating such content and keeping me educated!

[@RTWuk]

There's no such thing as 'road tax' in the UK.

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

VED is often called 'road tax'

[@RTWuk]

@@Gfynbcyiokbg8710 It is. But it's incorrect and misleading - Vehicle Excise Duty does not go directly to road maintenance or building. It goes into the general tax pot. And on a different point, most cyclists pay VED, contrary to the belief of some, as most cyclists are also car drivers.

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

@@RTWuk except road tax doesn't mean a tax that goes towards road maintenance, it usually just means a tax that vehicles have to pay to use public roads so therefore VED is a road tax

[@RTWuk]

@@Gfynbcyiokbg8710 You've missed the point.

[@HelloHi-g2u]

Another awesome video! Love to London from America ❤️ 🇬🇧 🇺🇸

[@HCMCDrives]

Wouldn't it be nice if the north received some investment of this magnitude.

[@rhysjaggar4677]

Suggest the North secedes from London and forms a new nation with Scotland then. That's the only way that non-Londoners will control transport infrastructure decisions north of Birmingham.

[@CartoType]

Don’t worry, the tunnel is within easy reach of North London.

[@brainwrong]

Or just some investment at all

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

​@@rhysjaggar4677 Then the North and Scotland would have even less investment

[@Jose-3nn]

How about the Northerners pay some taxes. London makes all the money so should get even more investment than it does

[@jarabaa]

Great video, Fabulous Fred. Again, enabling us, the people of London, to have a fascinating glimpse of something we know nothing about. But to my mind, engineering is a scientific discipline, and accordingly there should be no misleading images here, esp. when zillions of accurate London images are freely available. "City Hall" we hear at 7:56 - but that isn't London's City Hall, home of the Greater London Authority. Where Greater London is governed from. Nor its predecessor, County Hall. Is it the City of London Guildhall? I don't think so. The pre-1965 Middlesex Guildhall? Maybe. And at 8:20 ... where is that? Could be ... Finsbury Square? Or could be ... Montreal.

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

Are you that thick?

[@rocknrollzebra]

Road tax doesn't exist. Vehicles pay VED for the amount they pollute, as they should. Internal combustion engine cars will start being banned from large, dense cities within 10 years, which is also a good thing.

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

VED is still a form of road tax

[@Sam__05]

They should give the residents near Blackwall and Slivertown tunnels a discount just like the dartford bridge residents

[@YetAnotherGeorgeth]

I don’t live in London, but I heard about this project a few years back. I didn’t realise they were made enough to actually build it! Whatever happened to reducing vehicular travel and congestion?

[@DaChaGee]

This will reduce congestion

[@stevenham1937]

@@DaChaGee lol. Come back to this comment you made and update us in 2026. It won’t reduce anything. What it will do is push the worst polluting vehicles in to one of the worst polluted areas. The mayor decide to ignore all the groups who told him this even though they were the sane groups he used to promote ULEZ. Apparently they’re only correct if they agree with him.

[@LightbulbTedbear2]

@@DaChaGee No it won't. Every new journey that this tunnel generates still has to start and end on regular city streets. It will only mean more people choosing to commute cross-river by car, casuing more trips through existing streets. Every study shows that adding more road capacity in dense urban areas doesn't work. It just encourages more people to drive who otherwise wouldn't, increasing traffic in the long run.

[@chester6343]

​@@LightbulbTedbear2ah well

[@fahmad7194]

Marvellous 👍

[@JohnSmith-vm5cv]

One more lane bro, one more lane, I swear it'll work this time!!!!

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

It will probably work as now there will be tolls on both tunnels and much better bus routes

[@Bobspineable]

All the tunnels are toll routes and drivers hate tolls. I would much rather a crossing exist then nothing at all.

[@NitroNuggetTV]

East London does have a bit of problem regarding traffic tbf. We currently only have three crossings by car, And only four by train as well, 2 of which being the DLR... If I'm not mistaken, that means all vehicular traffic currently passes through 5 lanes north bound, and 6 lanes south bound. That's a lot of traffic reliant on 3 crossings.

[@8834]

It’s not one more lane though.

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

@@NitroNuggetTV ??? There are 7 rail crossings in East London which is the same number as West London. And there are either 7 or 3 lanes in each direction (depending if you count the Dartford crossing or not) + the Woolwich ferry.

[@emmawild2808]

as a trades person with vehicle this desperately needed however as so much traffic is coming straight from the A12 (than A13) i'm not sure it will work ... i'm sure they've monitored where the traffic dispatches to and from when passing through the tunnel to understand patterning of people journeys

[@JustinJamesJeep]

More roads ≠ less traffic

[@IsraelistheJewsland]

More roads =more targets for muslims

[@shadowdugify]

never said that though, he said less likely to build up of traffic. Big difference. More capacity means less likely to have cars staying idle

[@justaguyfromreddit]

wrong as well tho​@@shadowdugify

[@IsraelistheJewsland]

@@shadowdugify more likely to be attacked by the muslims

[@shadowdugify]

@@justaguyfromredditwrong said who? My city has had a lot of it's roads removed for bike only when there is only 1 bike an hour down it. You know what happens, the traffic then gets congested somewhere else.

[@Frankfurtdabezzzt]

Hey Fred, why is the attribution in the bottom left blureed out, for example at 2:03?

[@bengolding1551]

Looks like the the whole frame has a blur vignette. The attribution itself isn't solely blurred.

[@clemboston4723]

Just made some dinner this couldn’t have come at a better time

[@TheB1M]

Enjoy!

[@JustinJamesJeep]

Just watched during breakfast in Canada 😋

[@justintime753]

Its 5am here. Enjoy your dinner

[@theowainwright7406]

Hope I’ll be able to cycle through it

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

Nope

[@SergeMatveenko]

Let's talk about induced demand...

[@liamness]

It can't really induce demand when the A206 is already full to bursting.

[@SergeMatveenko]

@@liamnessit can and will. it will become as congested as A206 is unless more isolated public transport options are introduced as well as pedestrian and cycling options. Also, decentralization and reducing the current demand for crossing the river should be prioritized.

[@graymccarthy685]

The need for the tunnel is more about moving freight than easing rush hour congestion. Goods come down the M11 (the North) and A12 (Harwich Dock) then the link road (past the Olympic Park) takes them to the Blackwall tunnel, then onwards to the channel ports. The Blackwall tunnel is very small, it feels like the Victorian tunnel designed for horse and carts that it is.

[@GOLDF1NG3R]

since when The Guardian newspaper write positive about Britain?? 😂

[@copswat636]

Also what if they make a bridge? How long and how many lanes would take?

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

Not possible

[@overthecounterbeanie]

East London definitely needs more Thames crossings for both cars and pedestrians. There was a proposal for a cycling bridge at Rotherhithe years ago, scrapped of course 😠

[@Chevy-jordan]

Any bridge down stream from Tower Bridge would have to be ridiculously high to allow shipping, or have a moveable section.

[@overthecounterbeanie]

@@Chevy-jordan it did, and it looked FANTASTIC: kzbin.info/www/bejne/boDCo6iufst-fs0si=Lc45mIbvzOMA1hEr

[@online3010]

Where did the excavated material get discarded?

[@online3010]

@Akarsh2008 Thanks. I always think UK have many environmental rules about protecting them little fishes. 😃

[@Hhhh22222-w]

They dump it in Ireland

[@thomasfy4]

When I lived in London, commuting via car seems like madness

[@samil5601]

It is and has always been. People need to be weaned off their obsession with cars. It is worse than heroin.

[@StephenHarris-uy4tq]

People would rather commuting in there cars than be cramped on train with disgusting immigrants. You may not like this comment but it’s the truth

[@katherandefy]

Hey B1M! Would be great to see episodes comparing the eco-energy difference of renewables vs fossil sources. Not only in terms of energy usage but also tonnage of mining in the millions as opposed to billions.

[@ENGBriseB]

Always great work Fred. London needs more tunnels from North to South. And in 20 years most cars will be electric.

[@neilthewheelio]

Meanwhile in Yorkshire, the Government have donated a 10 year old bus to help with "levelling up."

[@mbdtfnl]

Does "induced demand" ring a bell? I'm surprised if now this new option will also be congested, while nothing changes on the old roads

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

This is a unique situation so it would be unlikely that that would happen here

[@WS_UK]

Love the ‘Courtesy of Fred Mills’ on some of the images. Never heard of him!😉

[@danielfield2570]

Imagine how much more infrastructure they could’ve got for $2.8bn if they spent the money in the North.

[@cuddlepaws4423]

So true, but anything north of London doesn't exist. They just send fracking up north along with nuclear waste.

[@Happy_Shopper]

They could have built a couple miles of HS2 with that

[@VictorHHH7]

What would be the point, they ain’t building this for fun it’s needed badly

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

This isn't preventing any money from being spent in the North

[@vujhvjvgvfujk9888]

@@Happy_Shopper 😂😂😂

[@jadoyon]

The fact that anyone in a government listens to idiot "activists" is absurd. They should have continued to build stuff for years instead of waiting 30 years before doing anything about it.

[@MichaelSnasdell]

Absolutely shocking that throughout the consultation there was never a consideration for use by pedestrians or cyclists. Therefore while encouraging Londoners NOT to use vehicles, insisting they do. The solution of a bus service for cyclists is hilarious, and of course will end up being chargeable, meaning ANY use of the tunnel will have to pay one way or another. Interested to see how it impacts travel though.

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

There was

[@mideem6853]

A bridge connecting North Woolwich and Woolwich Arsenal would have made the most sense to me

[@Chevy-jordan]

And how tall would that have to be.

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

The roads aren't big enough for a bridge there

[@jannik6147]

that "removing idling cars" argument by city hall is utter bs, it is a well known and documented phenomenon that more streets and even more lanes often lead to more traffic congestion and overall to more traffic which way outweighs the removed cars in idle

[@NmpK24]

So does their LTN schemes which already cause traffic bottlenecks on major London roads.

[@danieltesfaye8517]

⁠@@NmpK24How though? You shouldn't even be driving down residential roads in the first place. There was already bad traffic so you had to resort to driving through quiet residential roads mean the roads were already congested. LTN's were introduced to reduce short car journeys by blocking residential roads. Main roads will always be congested it is not as if it was quiet and free flowing.

[@maxplanck9055]

Beautiful dock land, even Fred found it difficult not to laugh✌️❤️🇬🇧

[@joelashford]

Normally a fan of this channel but this is riddled with errors and questionable journalism. 1) 'Road tax' hasn't existed since 1937. Its replacement is Vehicle Excise Duty, an emissions-weighted toll. 'Road Tax' is the most frequently-peddled lazy myth used to bash cyclists and other micro mobility users in London. 2) B1M has correctly talked about 'Build it and they will come' when it comes to train engineering projects. This phenomenon exists for cars too, so doubling the private vehicle capacity in North Greenwich can be expected to... double the number of private vehicles in North Greenwich. An insane backwards step for a city that's aiming to be net zero in the next decade or so. A green alternative like a DLR extension or other mass transit would've encouraged people out of their cars. What a missed opportunity. 3) The fact that no provision has been made whatsoever for pedestrians or cyclists/micro mobility in the Silvertown crossing is really a scandal, if you think about it. There've been rushed 4am-back-of-envelope ideas about a shuttle bus to carry people and their pushbikes across the tunnel but that's never going to work, not really. Certainly won't encourage people out of their cars. 4) wHat aBOut vAns And LorriES .... they hate traffic jams as much as the rest of us, and the vast majority of all those queuing to use the Blackwall tunnel are solo travellers in private cars. Give those people a viable alternative to their 2.5 tons of sofas and steel and all your hard-working Men with Ven will get to work much faster. The Silvertown tunnels, as they stand, though, are NOT the answer.

[@elkippy]

Yeah pretty disappointed to see these points go unmentioned, usually it's quite a good channel! Leaves me wondering what else he's missed in other videos

[@aps-pictures9335]

You contradict yourself in points 1 and 4, and point 3 was in use for years in London for underwater tunnels.

[@DaChaGee]

A load of losers have already pointed that out. We still call it road tax.

[@joelashford]

@@aps-pictures9335 wrong, wrong and wrong again. Thanks for trying though. Cheers!

[@joelashford]

@@DaChaGee thanks for your constructive comment. You’re wrong to call it road tax though, as the funds raised through VED are not and have never been ringfenced for roads. We all pay for that through income tax and other levies. Drivers are incredibly heavily subsidised by non-drivers and still whinge about a ‘war on motorists’.

[@jezusbloodie]

I really don't get what's going on with the bus only lane. As it starts the 2 lanes for cars combine into one, so that's going to congest before it, and on the otherwise the bus lane become the second lane again, with nowehere for the busses to go but to merge into traffic, so if it's congested further ahead, the busses are stuck too...

[@MarloSoBalJr]

Politicians' logic

[@jezusbloodie]

@@MarloSoBalJr fr fr

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

Its just a render and bus lanes can always be added in the future

[@FPSHeader]

Build more lanes! Anything below 16 lanes is communism.

[@josephkaz9093]

And induce demand further choaking the streets around the area. Smart.

[@willythemailboy2]

The answer is clearly to ban everything but foot traffic from every possible crossing of the river. No cars means no congestion at all. Problem solved.

[@RushWasABand]

@@josephkaz9093 Do you hear yourself? Demand is there. People want to be able to drive or things being delivered to them via road. This is going to increase supply. That is the right answer in the free world. Forcing people into crowded box cars or dirty buses with a lot of creepy strangers is the way of the oppressive regimes. Demand should guide governance decisions

[@dpdreilly]

We need single person cars, currently the roads could handle double capacity if cars were smaller

[@ntzm_]

7:43 There's no such thing as road tax, funding for roads comes from general taxation.

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

VED is often called 'road tax'

[@Sp4mMe]

Ah yeah, the good old "one more lane" type of traffic planning. I'm sure it'll work THIS time. Of course 3bn $ tunnel in London is perfectly doable, while HS2 is a waste of everyone's money, right ...

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

These 3bn tunnels aren't using any tax money

[@nrahman99]

Did I just see a bus lane?!

[@Smart1529]

Yep

[@rik8809]

Is it me, or was this episode a bit “boring“? 😁

[@TheB1M]

Nice

[@kletemi2598]

1:49 where is that taxi going??!

[@VictorHHH7]

I hate when you give a US dollar cost for the project, it’s being built in the UK use our currency

[@Betweoxwitegan]

He should use both imo, no doubt a large part of his viewership is from The USA or national cultures who are more familiar with USD conversion rates.

[@willythemailboy2]

@@Betweoxwitegan Literally everyone on Earth outside of the UK are more used to using US dollars, or translating their own currency into USD. Plus it wouldn't surprise me if 60-70% of his audience is in the US anyway.

[@Betweoxwitegan]

@@willythemailboy2 So basically what I said?

[@MilesBellas]

There coukd be an escooter tunnel network connecting Liverpool Docks to Salford Quays to Wigan Pier to Southport? Ease of access + Exercise = Improving Quality of Life

[@Hhhh22222-w]

Scooters are for sissies, real men who loves freedom drive manual cars /s not really tho a lot of ppl think like it

[@Galastin]

Classic "adding lanes will reduce idling and lower carbon" No, it'll induce car usage and demand. Nearly 3 billion is insane

[@a1white]

agreed. The 3 billion includes running costs over the next few years, I believe, but yes it is insane

[@andrelam9898]

Induced demand is bound to not make the car traffic much better in the long haul. Having dedicated bus lanes however could be a "game changer" for keeping them and emergency services moving. I have family just a few miles north of Amsterdam. Traffic from there to central station has been bad since the late 1970's at rush hour. The tunnels don't have dedicated bus lanes within the tunnel, but they do have special lanes leading up to the tunnel. As a bus approaches, the main traffic lights go red for the main traffic lanes and the bus scoots almost effortlessly into the tunnel and within minutes you are at the main bus drop off at central station. In the late 80's / early '90's they added inbound bus lanes for a few miles heading into the city running completely separate from car traffic. That made a world of difference as the main road is just 2 lanes and the government is not going to upgrade it (as they don't want to cause induced demand). You'd have to be a fool to take your car into central Amsterdam at rush hout. Take the bus and for most of it's journey it's able to move freely at 40 plus mph while cars are stopped in grilock. I hope that this part of the new tunnel in London will make cross river bus traffic much more enticing. If busses are stuck in the same traffic as cars... why take the bus. If the bus can move more quickly ... then take the bus. I had a similar experience when visiting NYC a decade ago while staying in NJ near the stadium. The bus had dedicated lanes that snaked it around traffic leading up to the tunnel.The busses by-passed the local gridlock. After the tunnel there were dedicated lanes to took the busses up quite some distance (maybe 30 to 50 meters) to enter the bus terminal. Quite some view as you are in a bus in a single lane elevated road.

[@cloudchaser2125]

WHY talk in dollars and Kilometres. Sorry but are we not in the UK, we have Pounds and Miles. Are you just another one turning your back on the UK. How sad.

[@James-st9uu]

Does it bother you that much 😂

[@Gfynbcyiokbg8710]

USD and Km are the international standards

[@GeekyMedia]

TWO B1M videos in one week??? We’re living in great times

[@cts4044]

People that complain about being "too car centric" need to realise that even cities like London with one of the world's best public transport systems need roads sometimes! 😅 Edit for the replies: Are some of you even from London?! Come to the city and find out how bad connectivity is on the east side! 🤣 Even the rail/underground routes are terrible.

[@EstebanDVO]

Ok, and? No one is debating that. But for the most part, good transit can replace a majority of single passenger cars on the road in cities.

[@SecularSynthesis]

''Too car centric'' isnt suggesting a city doesn't need cars. How silly

[@hylje]

People who complain about the traffic need to realise that not everywhere needs to be a gridlocked traffic hellscape that’s awful to be in.

[@srpacific]

Anyone who actually looks at London traffic will see that it’s mostly vans, tradespeople, deliveries, and exotic cars

[@NevermindXY]

Think how much money is wasted here. For this, you could prob provide cycling routes throughout the entirety of London. Yes, some people need cars. But definitely not that many people. And one more lane (which this effectively is) has also never fixed it.

[@larrymondello8475]

Thank you

[@BenJamin-rt7ui]

London looks shit.

[@Th3_Gael]

Diversity is a strength I'll have you know, diversity has it looking just the way it's supposed to

[@PhilippsGaming]

5:25 sorry but its done bevor at the stuttgart 21 projekt in 2018. They turned one machine inside a hill. You an check the video, its called: Tunnelbohrer wendet im Berg | Stuttgart 21

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[@ericjohan8047]

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[@erricyeh8446]

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[@AndrewN75]

This new tunnel will just skim off the local traffic between Woolwich/Charlton/Greenwich in the south and Silvertown/Becton/North Woolwich on the north side. Long distance traffic heading north via M11 or south via A2 into Kent/Dover/Chunnel will still use the old tunnels. Any long distance traffic trying to head east from the new tunnel will first have to first go west over Lower Lea crossing before joining the A13 at Leamouth Rd/A13 junction, just 500m from existing northern portal. Or navigate the local roads at 20mph to Beckton to join the northbound traffic from the Woolwich ferry on the A1020. The locals will love that. I will probably use it as I travel locally between Sidcup in Bexley and the SportsDock centre on the A1020 to coach. But its going to cost me the toll both ways twice a week and we don't know what that will be yet. Dartford crossing is £3 for cars. It seems unfair that only the east side of London has to pay tolls to cross the Thames whereas the rest of London uses the bridges for free.

[@cnut4563a]

Such a backwards plan

[@MrPDawes]

I'd like to know what's happening opposite the London eye and further up the river by Blackfriers Bridge. Looks like they'd digging huge vertical shafts in the river.

[@incredifall]

Fascinating!