TfL wants to sort out London's traffic with underground road tunnels

It's fair to say that being stuck in traffic sucks. But if Boris Johnson and TfL have their way, there could be one less stress in life to deal with. The mayor has revealed plans to ease up road congestion by sending more traffic underground. According to the proposal, two new tunnels could reduce traffic in central London by 20 percent, while TfL hope a number of local 'mini-tunnels and flyunders' could make more space on the ground-level for parks and homes. 

The first tunnel, dubbed the Northern Cross City Corridor, would link the A40 at Park Royal in northwest London to the A12 in Hackney Wick and stretch to a fairly lengthy 18km. The second tunnel would be even longer at 25km, connecting the A4 in Chiswick to the A13 in Beckton. Considering the current Blackwall Tunnel underneath the river Thames is only 1.35km, these super-tunnels would be pretty major.  

But if you're wondering who'd be footing the bill for such a huge development, Johnson reckons it could be funded by toll charges. Still, we might have to wait a bit to see if the project could actually deliver - the first tunnel is planned to open within 20 years, by which point we'll probably all be travelling around on hoverboards anyway. 

Find out more about the development on the Mayor of London website.

Or see why cyclists might start to take over this town.