Newcastle Central Motorway inspections begin weeks after Gateshead Flyover closure
A 10-week inspection of the state of Newcastle's Central Motorway is beginning, just weeks after the sudden closure of one of Tyneside's key roads. The Gateshead[1] Flyover has been shut since mid-December[2] due to structural concerns and is expected to be demolished. Engineers are now carrying out checks on similar elevated sections of the A167 on the Newcastle side of the Tyne.
Newcastle City Council[3] confirmed that, in works scheduled as part of the GBP41.
4 million restoration of both the Tyne Bridge and Central Motorway, assessments will be carried out on the condition of the 1970's concrete elevated viaduct running from the Great North Road to the New Bridge Street roundabout. The surveys are expected to take up to 10 weeks to complete and will require lane closures and overnight shutdowns on what is one of the main routes in and out of Newcastle. Major maintenance works on the Central Motorway are then due to get under way this summer, including waterproofing and concrete repairs, and are expected to last between 18 and 24 months.
The state of the Central Motorway's various flyovers and bridges has come under renewed scrutiny since the Gateshead Flyover debacle[4], with it having been built just a few years after the ailing structure south of the river. Coun Juna Sathian, the council's cabinet member for climate and transport, said: "These vital inspection works are part of a major maintenance programme for one of the key routes in the city. This will be the first major upgrade to the Central Motorway in over twenty years, and it is important that these works take place to ensure we have robust infrastructure in place in Newcastle to help keep the city moving.
"We've worked hard to minimise disruption, but we ask people to please plan ahead and allow more time for their journey as we carry out these vital inspections." The first stages of the inspections began on Monday, January 13, with off-peak lane closures to the A167 on and off slip roads to Jesmond until January 24. Four weeks of overnight closures on the Central Motorway's southbound carriageway are then due to start on January 27.
Further overnight closures will also be needed on the Great North Road for two weeks, starting February 24. Roughly GBP9 million of the funding package for the Tyne Bridge and Central Motorway refurbishment is being put towards the motorway - significantly less than was originally planned, after inflation levels pushed up costs and led city bosses to prioritise the grade II* listed crossing's needs. The Government is yet to confirm whether or not it will provide the final GBP6 million which was promised for the project and remains outstanding, having been put under review by the Department for Transport after Labour[5] came to power last summer.
Join our Breaking News and Top Stories WhatsApp community
Join our Breaking News and Top Stories WhatsApp community[6] for all the latest news direct to your phone.
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you're curious, you can read our privacy notice[7].
References
- ^ Gateshead (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
- ^ been shut since mid-December (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
- ^ Newcastle City Council (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
- ^ has come under renewed scrutiny since the Gateshead Flyover debacle (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
- ^ Labour (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
- ^ Join our Breaking News and Top Stories WhatsApp community (chat.whatsapp.com)
- ^ privacy notice (www.reachplc.com)
- ^ CLICK HERE TO JOIN (chat.whatsapp.com)