Queues FIVE MILES long as motorists stranded for hours after Blackwall Tunnel closes
QUEUES stretching back miles are snaking around south London after the Blackwall Tunnel was forced to close.
There are queues stretching back five miles
Hundred of irate motorists have been trapped in jams or forced to find alternative routes on Tuesday after one of the main Thames’ crossings was shut.
Lines of cars stretching as far back as five miles have been reported south of capital, with frustrated commuters facing a three-hour wait.
The northbound tunnel was forced to close earlier on Tuesday after a fuel spillage more than half a mile long - roughly three quarters of the tunnel’s length.
CCTV showed a mobile crane was the culprit for the spillage, which happened around 7am.
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Transport for London (TfL) sent contractors to clean up the corrosive liquid from the road and resurface it, meaning it will not reopen for the rest of the day.
Garrett Emmerson, TfL's chief operating officer for surface transport, said: "We apologise to drivers and bus passengers who have been affected by today's closure of the northbound Blackwall Tunnel and we are working hard to resurface the road as quickly as possible."
For a short period both the north and southbound tunnels were shut
Footage from inside the tunnel, located in Greenwich, showed workers busy mopping up the mess, deemed too slippery to allow cars to drive on.
In added misery for motorists, the Southbound Tunnel was also forced to close for around an hour due to a broken down vehicle.
And after it had been recovered, there was a problem with the barrier opening and an engineer had to be sent to fix it.
After the cavalcade of problems the Southbound tunnel was finally re-opened around 7pm.
A massive fuel spillage caused the tunnel to shut
TfL tweeted that people should expect delays, but recovery is underway.
Buses in the area are on diversion due to the road closures, but in a bid to ease some of the backlog the Woolwich Ferry is running until 11pm.
The road nightmare comes just one day after southerners were hit with another almighty traffic jam.
Motorists faced a three-hour wait
Technical problems with the safety system at the Dartford Crossing caused nine miles of tailbacks after the crossing was forced to shut.
The traffic hell also impacted onto the A2, M2 and the M25.