Monday 1 November 2010

#merseytunnel #iPhoneography

This Grade II listed building is one of the ventilation shafts for the Mersey tunnel, it also houses the control room.

The tunnel entrances, toll booths and ventilation building exteriors were designed by architect Herbert James Rowse.

The first tunnel opened in 1934 and for 24 years it was the longest underwater tunnel in the world.
In 1971 the Kingsway Tunnel opened to relieve traffic congestion.
The tunnel is circular, even though when driving through it appears semi-circular and the area below the roadway is known as Central Avenue, this was planned to house an electric tram route, then to house a gas pipe, these plans were later abandoned.
In April 2004 construction began of seven emergency refuges below the road deck, as part of a project to bring the tunnel into line with European safety standards.
In September 2009 scenes from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows were filmed in the tunnel.

Some interesting photos of the inside of the building above can be found here

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