New Icons for Merseytravel

We were recently commissioned to create a series of new icons for Merseytravel depicting the 16 vehicles types that might use either of the Mersey Tunnels. The vehicles included a motorcycle with sidecar ('when was the last time you saw one of those?' the client asked) and a three-wheeled motor car (think Only Fools and Horses).

It was a privilege to add to the tunnels' long history, so we thought we'd share some little-known facts about them.

Known locally as the Birkenhead Tunnel, or the Old Tunnel, the Queensway Tunnel was opened by King George V in 1934, attracting a 200,000-strong crowd. Prior to its opening, vehicles often had to queue to cross the River Mersey using the ferry. At 3.24 kilometres (2.01 miles) long, it held the title of the longest road tunnel in the world for 14 years. It now carries an average of 35,000 vehicles (just under 12.8 million per year).

The Kingsway Tunnel (or Wallasey Tunnel) was opened in 1971 to relieve the increasing amount of traffic travelling between Wirral Peninsula and Liverpool. Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the tunnels are regarded as the safest in the UK.

Intrepid tourists can don hard hats and hi-vis jackets to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the Queensway Tunnel, accessing the inner workings of the amazing feat of engineering, including entrance to the original tunnel control room and under the road surface.