Queues though Tyne Tunnel after A167 closed in Newcastle
Emergency services were alerted to the fire in the building in Carliol Square, in Newcastle, at about 6.45 pm last night, with smoke from the huge blaze seen for miles.
Now, the Northbound carriageway of the A167(M) Central Motorway, is closed until further notice. The closed section stretches from the A186 Swan House Roundabout underpass and A193 New Bridge St.
As the motorway through the city has been closed, other roads are seeing excessive numbers of commuters, and infrastructure cannot cope with the increased volume of vehicles.
A19 Northbound Tyne Tunnel traffic came to a standstill on the approach to the Southern Portal in Jarrow, due to the higher-than-normal number of commuters taking the journey.
Both sides of the A19 are impacted, with congestion stretching from around Testo’s Roundabout to the Tyne Tunnel.
Delays due to abnormally heavy traffic are on A19 Northbound at A194 Leam Lane (Lindisfarne Roundabout), and the A19 Southbound between A1056 Killingworth Way (Killingworth Junction) and A184 Newcastle Road (Testo’s Roundabout).
Average delays currently stand around 25 minutes.
Dozens of firefighters tackled the huge blaze last night, which was tearing through a disused Newcastle City Centre building on Carliol Square.
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Several appliances from Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service were at the scene along with officers from Northumbria Police, who closed off the central motorway northbound from Tyne Bridge.
Members of the North East Ambulance Service were also in attendance.
A Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS) spokesperson said: “We have a significant presence at a large fire at a disused building in Carliol Square in Newcastle City Centre this evening.
“Our Fire Control received a call reporting a fire at the large, unoccupied former commercial building at around 6.44pm today. Our first appliance was on scene in just five minutes.
“In total, eight appliances and two Aerial Ladder Platform (ALP) vehicles are on scene to help bring the fire under control.
“Our colleagues at Northumbria Police are supporting us on scene and the Central Motorway has been closed northbound from the Tyne Bridge with diversions in place.
“We will update you with more information as we can but please avoid the area if possible.”
The road is expected to remain closed well into the morning.
References
- ^ A167, in Newcastle, closed following Carliol Square fire (www.thenorthernecho.co.uk)
- ^ here (www.thenorthernecho.co.uk)