Queensway Tunnel marks 90th anniversary

Thousands turned out to witness King George V and Queen Mary open the Queensway Tunnel

The longest tunnel in the UK is marking its 90th anniversary of opening.

At 2.13-miles (3.4km) the Queensway Tunnel, linking Liverpool and Birkenhead, was opened by King George V on 18 July 1934.

Taking nine years to build, the "impressive feat of engineering" was the first road vehicle tunnel to be built underneath the River Mersey.

Peter Lang, local historian from the Liverpudlian, said it was a "phenomenal feat" to complete because it was a "real battle".

Workers had to endure gruelling conditions during its nine-year construction

Mr Lang said: "It was a real struggle, a real toil to try and get through by hand...so what they achieved was incredible".

The building process began in 1925, with 1,700 people working in challenging conditions - excavating 1.2 million tonnes of rock by hand and replacing it with 82,000 tonnes of cast iron and 270,000 tonnes of concrete.

Seventeen men lost their lives during construction and are honoured annually on Workers Memorial Day.

The idea for the tunnel came after local authorities created a joint committee following lobbying and a refusal from central government.

King George V and Queen Mary had a "jubilant" reception when they arrived, Mr Lang says

Mr Lang said one man in particular pushed for it - Sir Archibald Salvidge, who was a leader of the local Conservative party and he helped steer the idea in 1921.

Many felt this would be better than a bridge, Mr Lang said, due to World War One being fresh in people's minds.

When King George V and Queen Mary opened the tunnel up to 200,000 descended to watch the ceremony, which included 1,000 school children lining the streets dressed as flowers to form a human bouquet.

The building process began in 1925

Costing £8m to build, the tunnel is split into two sections with the upper level being used to carry the road traffic, and the lower section, known as Central Avenue, originally intended to house a tramway.

The Queensway Tunnel is currently undergoing works to upgrade lighting, with energy efficient LEDs being fitted, with a lifespan of 25 years.

To celebrate its granite anniversary, free behind the scenes tours are being held at George’s Dock Building on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 BST.