The King Opens the Mersey Tunnel
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FAR-REACHING changes in traffic routes in the North-West are already taking place as a result of the opening of the Mersey Tunnel by H.M. the King, on Wednesday last. Shortly before noon on Wednesday, the royal car travelled down Kingsway, Liverpool, to the tunnel head. There the party was received by the Lord Mayor of Liverpool and Sir Thomas White, who read an address from the tunnel committee. The King replied and declared the tunnel open. There were 150,000 persons present. Earlier in the morning, the King performed the official opening ceremony of the East Lancashire road, the £3,000,000 highway that connects Liverpool with Manchester: With last Wednesday's ceremony came the conclusion of nearly nine years' constructional work upon which approximately £8,000,000 has been expended. The tunnel is a little over two miles long and is the largest underwater road tunnel in the world. It will be the means of saving about half an hour for every vehicle journey between Liverpool and Birkenhead.
To minimize delay in entering the tunnel, toll offices have been arranged so that the drivers of eight vehicles can pay at the same time and then continue at 30 m.p.h. This speed is the maximum for the faster of the two lines of traffic allowed in each direction, 20 m.p.h. being the minimum, whilst for the slow line in each direction the maximum speed is 12 m.p.h. and the minimum 6 m.p.h. The roadway is 36 ft. wide, thus giving ample room for four
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lines of traffic. An average of 4,500 vehicles per hour is expected to he dealt with at busy periods.
Lighting and ventilation (2,500,000 cubic ft. of air are supplied every minute) have been devised so that an absolute breakdown is practically inconceivable. There are fire alarms, complete with extinguishers and hydrants, at intervals of 110 ft. Light rays work a stop signal if vehicles of excessive height pass through.
The• breakdown wagon described last week in The Commercial Motor, and illustrated herewith, will remove vehicles that may be mbrought to a
standstill by tyre, mechanical or other trouble, the charge for this assistance being twice the amount of toll already paid. The main Liverpool entrance is at Old Haymarket and the main Birkenhead entrance is in Chester Street.
From 3 p.m. on Wednesday the tunnel was open for single-deck buses and cars, hut goods vehicles will not be admitted until further notice.
Further revisions have been made in the tolls and another concession is that monthly accounts are now to be allowed to concerns that guarantee traffic to the minimum of £10 per month.