The 90-year-old story of River Mersey Queensway Tunnel in 18 historic pictures

The Queensway Tunnel is celebrating its granite anniversary this month, marking 90 years of providing motorists easy access between Liverpool and Wirral.

The route between Liverpool city centre and Birkenhead was designed by Sir Basil Mott and took nine years to build by hand. During the construction, around 1,700 men worked on the site and 17 were sadly killed.

The tunnel was opened at a grand ceremony by King George V on July 18, 1934, and 200,000 people gathered to watch the historic moment. The longest road tunnel at the time, Queensway held the title for 14 years until the opening of the Vielha Tunnel in Spain.

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Tunnel is 2.1 miles long and is not only a transport route but also a famous a monument, featuring in a Harry Potter film and television shows including Hollyoaks. Currently undergoing an £11m upgrade to make it more energy efficient, Queensway continues to be a core part Merseyside’s infrastructure.

In celebration of the 90-year milestone, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority is opening the doors to George’s Dock Building on July 20 and 21 to offer visitors a free behind the scenes tour of the original Mersey Tunnel.

While Queensway is a huge part of Liverpool, allowing thousands of people to travel to and from the Wirral every single day, it wasn’t always here and it’s something many of us take for granted. Here, we take a look back at the tunnel’s history, from the hard work of the incredible men who helped build it to the official opening ceremony.