The Tyne Tunnel is a the name given to two two-lane toll

Toll tunnel

A toll tunnel is a special road tunnel whose construction and/or maintenance costs are in part recouped through a toll charged for passing through it. In some instances, tolls have been removed after retirement of the toll revenue bonds issued to raise funds for construction and/or operation of the...

 vehicular tunnels under the River Tyne

River Tyne

The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...

 in North East England

North East England

North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...

. Completed in 1967 and 2011 respectively, they connect the town of Jarrow

Jarrow

Jarrow is a town in Tyne and Wear, England, located on the River Tyne, with a population of 27,526. From the middle of the 19th century until 1935, Jarrow was a centre for shipbuilding, and was the starting point of the Jarrow March against unemployment in 1936.-Foundation:The Angles re-occupied...

 on the south bank of the river with North Shields

North Shields

North Shields is a town on the north bank of the River Tyne, in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in North East England...

 and Howdon

Howdon

Howdon is a place in Tyne and Wear, England.Howdon is an area in the eastern part of Wallsend, a former coal-mining and shipbuilding town on the north banks of the River Tyne....

 on the north. The original tunnel was one of three forming the original Tyne Tunnel Project; the others are the pedestrian and cyclist tunnels opened in 1951. The tunnels are 11 km (7 mi) downstream and to the east of Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

 and form part of the A19 road

A19 road

The A19 is a major road in England running approximately parallel to and east of the A1 road, although the two roads meet at the northern end of the A19, the two roads originally met at the southern end of the A19 in Doncaster but the old route of the A1 was changed to the A638. From Sunderland...

.
A scheme for the construction of a set of three tunnels under the Tyne was put forward by the Durham

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

 and Northumberland

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

 County Councils in 1937 .