The Mersey Tunnels connect the city of Liverpool with Wirral, under the River Mersey. There are three tunnels: the Mersey Railway Tunnel, opened 1886, and two road tunnels, the Queensway Tunnel, opened 1934 and the Kingsway Tunnel, opened 1971. The railway tunnel and Queensway road tunnel connect central Liverpool with Birkenhead, while the Kingsway road tunnel runs to Wallasey.

The road tunnels are owned and operated by Merseytravel, and have their own police force, the Mersey Tunnels Police. In 1967 it was announced that the "Mersey Tunnel Scheme" was now operational. The scheme comprised what was claimed to be the largest closed circuit television system for traffic control outside North America, and featured a bank of 22 CRT monitors.

In November 2012 scenes for the 2013 film Fast & Furious 6 were filmed in the Queensway Tunnel.

There is an annual 10k run that passes underneath the Mersey via the Kingsway Tunnel. This is the only time during the year when one can travel through the tunnel on foot. In 2024, more than 2,000 people registered to take part in the event.

See also

  • Architecture of Liverpool
  • Monument to the Mersey Tunnel

References

Further reading

  • Moore, Jim (1998). Underground Liverpool. Liverpool: Bluecoat Press.
  • Official website of the Mersey Tunnels
  • Mersey Tunnels Users Association