Strand Underpass the former Aldwych tramway station: because of the greater width requirement, 27 trees and some pavement were removed for it to be constructed. The tunnel is used by the 521 bus route northbound. In 2012, the direction of traffic in the tunnel was temporarily reversed, so that it was in use by southbound traffic. This was to facilitate easier traffic flow during the 2012 Summer Olympics. Strand Underpass The Strand Underpass is a one-way vehicle tunnel in central London connecting Waterloo Bridge to Kingsway near Holborn. Opened in 1964, it was built within the former Kingsway tramway subway, which closed
Westminster Bridge traffic to/from the greater West End would have to negotiate streets often as congested as London Bridge, principally the Strand/Fleet Street and New Oxford Street/Holborn. Roads on both sides of the river were also built and improved, including Charing Cross Road and around the Elephant & Castle in Southwark. By the mid–19th century the bridge was subsiding badly and expensive to maintain. The current bridge was designed by Thomas Page and opened on 24 May 1862. With a length of and a width of , it is a seven-arch, cast-iron bridge with Gothic detailing by Charles Barry (the architect of