Mersey Tunnels

Wallasey entrance to the Kingsway Tunnel
Liverpool entrance to the Queensway Tunnel

The Mersey Tunnels connect Liverpool with the Wirral Peninsula, 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 Tunnel connect Liverpool with Birkenhead, while the Kingsway 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.[1] 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.[1]

The Birkenhead Tunnel was used to film scenes for the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1. This provided Claire House children's hospice in Wirral with a £20,000 windfall, the money being paid to Merseytravel by Warner Brothers, the makers of the film, for use of the Tunnel as a location.[2]

In November 2012 scenes for the film Fast & Furious 6 started in Liverpool[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "News and Views: Mersey Tunnel TV". Autocar 126 (3707): 80. 2 March 1967.
  2. ↑ http://www.merseytravel.gov.uk/newsarticle.asp?articleid=1611&catid=1.html
  3. ↑ "The Fast and the Furious 6 filming in Liverpool. Pics Gareth Jones". Liverpool Echo.

External links

Coordinates: 53°24′23″N 3°00′43″W / 53.406360°N 3.011971°W