The MPA 2026
Project Award Winner

The Silvertown Tunnel is a landmark piece of UK infrastructure: a twin-bore road tunnel beneath the River Thames, linking Silvertown with the Greenwich Peninsula and easing pressure on the Blackwall Tunnel. Commissioned by Transport for London and delivered by Riverlinx CJV, the project demanded exceptional quality, certainty and innovation from its precast supply chain.

Banagher Precast Concrete played a pivotal role, manufacturing more than 10,200 precision tunnel segments, alongside bridge beams and prestressed Double-Tees. Produced offsite under rigorous factory controls, the units supported programme reliability, reduced congested site activity and delivered the dimensional accuracy required for one of the UK’s most technically demanding tunnel schemes.

Banagher’s contribution went beyond manufacture. The company invested in new moulds, lifting equipment, storage, batching upgrades and an expanded laboratory, achieving ISO 17025 accreditation. It also developed a low-carbon, high-performance concrete mix containing 39% GGBS and polypropylene fibres, alongside steel-fibre reinforcement across thousands of units, reducing reliance on traditional cages. This saved approximately 1,480 tonnes of CO₂ while meeting demanding requirements for durability, fire resistance and early strength.

Most notably, Banagher helped deliver the UK’s first prop-less cross-passage segment solution. Working with Riverlinx, designers and specialist suppliers, it manufactured highly reinforced special segments that enabled cross-passage openings without 56 temporary steel props, improving safety while reducing congestion, time, carbon and cost.

Through digital coordination, modern manufacturing and close collaboration, Banagher kept pace as tunnelling accelerated, helping the tunnel boring programme finish four months ahead of schedule. The Silvertown Tunnel demonstrates how precast concrete can deliver landmark infrastructure with precision, lower carbon and genuine construction value.