Editing Queensway Tunnel (section)

==Design and facilities==
[[File:Mersey Tunnel Toolbooths, Birkenhead - geograph.org.uk - 342189.jpg|thumb|Toll booths at the Birkenhead entrance to the Queensway Tunnel]]
The tunnel is {{convert|2.13|mi|km}} long.<ref name=bbc80 /> It contains a single carriageway of four lanes, two in each direction. A lower deck, originally intended as a tramway, is used for ventilation<ref name=bbc80>{{cite news|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-28372224|title= Queensway tunnel's 80th anniversary celebrated|author=BBC News|work= BBC News|date=19 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.kimpton.co.uk/work-begins-queensway-tunnel/|title= Work begins on the £3m Kingsway Tunnel Refurbishment|date=12 March 2020|author=Kimpton Energy Solutions|accessdate=20 December 2022}}</ref> and emergency refuges.<ref name=coslett/>

The tunnel entrances, toll booths and ventilation building exteriors were designed by architect [[Herbert James Rowse]], who is frequently but incorrectly credited with the whole civil engineering project. Their decoration is by [[Edmund Thompson]].<ref>{{Cite episode | title = Port Sunlight 2 | series = [[Antiques Roadshow]] | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01nmdxm | access-date = 21 October 2012 | network = [[BBC]] | date = 21 October 2012 | series-no = 35 | number = 3 }}</ref> These are Grade II [[listed building]]s.

[[File:Queensway tunnel pylon in Birkenhead.JPG|thumb|left|upright|One of the original Art Deco lamp pillars from Birkenhead, now the [[Monument to the Mersey Tunnel]]]]
Different height restrictions apply to the nearside and offside lanes in each direction, because of the curvature of the tunnel. These are {{convert|3.9|m}} and {{convert|4.75|m}} respectively, and there is a 3.5&nbsp;t weight limit for goods vehicles. All buses are required to use the offside lane, regardless of their height. Lane signals (consisting of an illuminated green arrow or red cross) are displayed at regular intervals, although in normal circumstances none of the lanes are currently used bidirectionally. This is in contrast to the [[Kingsway Tunnel]], where lanes in toll concourse are alternated to prioritise higher traffic in one direction during peak hours.

The tunnel has two branches leading off the main tunnel to the dock areas on both sides of the river. The Birkenhead branch tunnel (known as the Rendel Street branch, or Dock Exit) was closed in 1965. When travelling in the Birkenhead direction, the branch can still be seen inside the tunnel on the right just before the left hand bend towards the Birkenhead exit. The exit of this branch can also be seen on the outside from Rendel Street near the junction with Marcus Street, just north of Cleveland Street in [[Birkenhead]]. This branch also carried two-way traffic, single lane each way. It was also controlled by traffic lights inside the tunnel. This branch mainly served Birkenhead docks and for people travelling to the Wirral resort of New Brighton. These are now best served by the Kingsway Tunnel. The Liverpool branch tunnel remains in use, in the exit direction only. It emerges opposite the [[Royal Liver Building|Liver Building]], next to the Atlantic Tower Hotel and [[Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas, Liverpool|Church of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas]]. Originally, it carried two-way traffic and the junction inside the tunnel was controlled by traffic lights, but this arrangement was discontinued to reduce the delays brought on by increasing traffic levels. Had it been built, the tunnel would have connected with the Liverpool urban motorway, the planned inner ring road.

===Tolls===
[[File:Tunnel Tollbooth - geograph.org.uk - 1454533.jpg|thumb|An original tollbooth, now preserved in Liverpool]]
Tolls have been a feature of tunnel use since the Queensway Tunnel opened in 1934. Although residents were originally told tolls would be removed when debts were repaid, this position was dropped long ago. Debts and tolls were increased when the Kingsway Tunnel was built in 1971 to relieve congestion in the first tunnel. The [[County of Merseyside Act 1980]] (c. x) enshrined in law the right to continue collecting tolls once the debts were repaid. The later [[Mersey Tunnels Act 2004]] (c. ii) created a legal position where tolls charged must rise in line with the [[Retail Price Index]] (RPI) as published in November.<ref>David Bartlett (10 January 2013) [http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/mersey-tunnels-still-owe-58m-3324486 "Mersey Tunnels still owe £58m but tolls income is being used elsewhere"]  [[Liverpool Echo]]: Retrieved 6 December 2019</ref>

{{As of|May 2024}} the toll is £2.10 per journey<ref name="toll"/> for a single passenger car of typical size, with progressively higher tolls for larger vehicles; solo motorcycles are free.<ref name="toll" /> [[Annual average daily traffic|Average daily traffic]] through the tunnel currently stands at 35,000 vehicles, which equates to just under £12.8 million per year.<ref name=EchoHP/>

===Ventilation===
As a roadway the tunnel requires ventilation to clear vehicle exhaust fumes. As originally designed the tunnel would have used forced air for ventilation; fumes and noxious gases were simply to be expelled through the tunnel exits. However, in an incident in the [[Liberty Tunnel]] in [[Pittsburgh]] in May 1924, inadequate ventilation led to a number of drivers being overcome by [[carbon monoxide poisoning]], though there were no fatalities; this led the Queensway engineers to re-examine the issue and to conduct experiments in a completed section under Hamilton Square. Extractors were installed in the planned ventilation stations, adding to their size and complexity, and also adding considerably to the budget.<ref>Ian Jackson, Simon Pepper, Peter Richmond  ''Herbert Rowse'', p46 (2019) Historic England {{ISBN|978-1-84802-549-3}}</ref>

The tunnel currently has six ventilation shafts, three on each side of the river.
On the Wirral side the main shaft is at Woodside, with another (before the main exit) in Sidney Street, while the Dock Exit branch is served by the tower in Taylor Street.
On the Liverpool side the main shaft is at the Pier head, in the [[George's Dock Building]], with another (before the main exit) in North John Street, and the Strand Exit branch is served by the tower in Fazakerley Street. The Georges Dock Building also houses offices of the Tunnels Authority and of the Tunnels Police Force.
All the ventilation buildings were designed by Herbert Rowse, chief architect for the Queensway tunnel exteriors, and all are [[Grade II]] [[listed building|listed]].
<gallery>
File:Queensway Tunnel ventilator, Taylor Street 4.jpg|Taylor Street ventilator, Wirral
File:Queensway Tunnel ventilator, Sidney Street 1.jpg|Sidney Street ventilator, Wirral
File:Birkenhead Tower seen from Liverpool - panoramio.jpg|Woodside main ventilator, Wirral
File:George's Dock Ventilation and Control Station 2018-1.jpg|Georges Dock main ventilator, Liverpool
File:Ventilation Station, North John Street.jpg|North John Street ventilator, Liverpool
File:Queensway Tunnel ventilator, Fazakerley Street.jpg|Fazakerley Street ventilator, Liverpool
</gallery>

{{clear left}}