A tunnel will be closed for a weekend while work to install a new bridge is carried out.

The southbound Blackwall Tunnel is scheduled to be closed from 10pm on Friday, March 31 until 5am Monday, April 3 so the existing walkway over the A102 can be replaced.

The current structure was built in the 60s and will be used until the new bridge is fully operational. The new walkway, delivered by Riverlinx CJV as part of the Silvertown Tunnel project, is designed to be fully accessible.

Carl Eddleston, director of network management and resilience at the Transport for London, said: “The Blackwall Tunnel is used by tens of thousands of vehicles every day and we appreciate that these works will be impactful for drivers across the weekend.

"We have worked hard to try and minimise the potential disruption these will cause, such as putting on additional Woolwich Ferry services and ensuring a northbound route can be maintained across the weekend."

The northbound Blackwall Tunnel will not be affected by this closure, but drivers will be diverted on the Saturday night while the main bridge span is craned into place.

Those driving lorries and vans more than two metres high and four tonnes in weight are advised to use the Dartford Crossing instead.

Diversions at the Rotherhithe Tunnel and Tower Bridge will be in place – both of which are outside of the Congestion Charge zone.

To help reduce the burden on other river crossings, the Woolwich Ferry will operate a service every 15/20 minutes across the weekend between 7am and 6pm.

The 108 bus route, which runs through the Blackwall Tunnel, will be split with services ending at Canning Town station and North Greenwich.

Customers are advised to then change onto the Jubilee line to cross the river to complete their journeys - and with the Mayor's Hopper fare, customers won’t be charged for any additional bus journeys on the other side of the river, providing they begin within an hour of touching in on the first bus.

During the closure, the TfL will also carry out a range of works within and around the tunnel, including carriageway repairs, renewing road markings and repairing signage, and cleaning gullies to reduce risk of future flooding.

Air Quality Monitors located within the road closure area will also undergo general maintenance.