The town is the easternmost point of the A205 South Circular Road, where it meets the Woolwich Ferry. The other main road in the area is the A206 which runs east west along the southern bank of the Thames.
Woolwich is also a hub of the local public transport network. A branch of the Docklands Light Railway ends here, and there is a foot tunnel underneath the Thames allowing pedestrians to avoid crossing the ferry.
The town was intended to be bypassed by the eastern section of Ringway 2, which would also have greatly reduced demand for the ferry. Along with most of the Ringways plans, this was cancelled in 1973. Several bypass proposals including a Thames crossing have been proposed since then, most recently the Gallions Reach Crossing.