| Queensway
Tunnel Tour - Under the Tunnel |
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a tacky'Liverpool at Night' postcard. This is the view of the
tunnel under the tunnel. The bend is at the River Mersey mid-point
and shows the begining of the ascent into Birkenhead. |
The
tunnel under the tunnel is known as Central Avenue. It is directly
under the two central lanes of traffic. Originally it was going
to house a tramway but this idea fell by the wayside as other transport
methods became more popular.
The space was then rented out to British Gas who fitted a large
pipe to transport gas from one side of the river to the other. This
pipe is now defunct as substances are transported via different
methods.
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| The
pipe in Central Avenue. |
Water
which has seeped into the tunnel collects in the bottom of Central
Avenue. It flows to mid-river where is comes into the mid-river
pumping station and is pumped out of the tunnel.
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| This
vehicle is used by the tunnel staff to mark the ceiling. |
This
vehicle is a Morris - it is now stuck in the tunnel as it straddles
the gas pipe in the middle of Central Avenue. It is used by staff
when they travel the length of the tunnel marking cracks in the
ceiling. Unfortunately it cannot be turned around so one of the
employees has to draw the short straw each time to reverse the length
of the tunnel!
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These
markings on the ceiling relate to the cracks which have formed
over time.
In total there are 10,660 of them.
The tunnel road deck has been strengthened 3 times but it cannot
be done again as the supports would get too near the air vents
meaning the ventilation system would have to be re-fitted. |
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