Medway Tunnel – Facts and Figures

Cut and Cover Tunnel
West Bank95 metres long
East Bank 260 metres long
Immersed Tube Tunnel
Section Width 23.9 metres
Section Height9.15 metres
Section Weightapprox. 30,000 tonnes each
Section Length 2 sections at 126 metres - 1 section at 118 metres
Total Tunnel Length725 metres between portals
Total Scheme Length1.5 km between Pembroke Road in Chatham Maritime and Anthony's Way in Frindsbury
Total Scheme Cost£80,000,000
Construction BeganJuly 1992
Tunnel Opened12 June 1996

Each section of the tunnel weighs 30,000 tonnes – over six times the weight of the Royal Navy frigate HMS Chatham.

The tunnel needed 100,000 cubic metres of concrete weighing 250,000 tonnes and requiring 20,000 truck loads to deliver.

The 1,500 miles of steel bars used to reinforce the concrete, if laid end to end, would stretch from Chatham to Moscow.