Gateshead Flyover strengthening work starts as new concrete to be poured at closed structure

New work has begun in latest efforts to reinforce the closed Gateshead Flyover.

Engineers started a new phase of strengthening works at the stricken section of the A167 on Monday, which will see troublesome sections encased in new concrete The 1960s-built flyover has been shut to all traffic since mid-December, when serious concerns emerged about its structural integrity, causing significant travel disruption in central Tyneside.

A temporary prop was installed shortly before the new year in order that Tyne and Wear Metro trains could return to running through the tunnels underneath the flyover without fears that the structure would collapse, having previously had to be suspended for almost two weeks either side of Christmas. It is hoped that the latest works, in which new concrete will be poured around two of the pillars which hold up the flyover and have been identified as sources of concern, will allow Metro services to continue as normal and could also lead to the reopening of the Sunderland Road bus lane.

READ MORE: Planned £700,000 HQ move for Metro operator Nexus branded 'extraordinary' after flyover disruption

ADVERTISEMENT

READ MORE: Philadelphia plane crash pilot's final words in chilling audio

Gateshead Council has said that it expects the work will take four to five weeks to carry out, depending on the weather. However, the flyover itself is not expected to reopen to traffic. It is instead set to be demolished, though plans for that are still being finalised.

Gateshead Council leader Martin Gannon told the Local Democracy Reporting Service in January that it would take “probably a year” for the flyover to be torn down and that it would be a “really complex, difficult piece of work”. While saying that the prospect of reopening the flyover was not entirely off the table, the Labour leader indicated that the council was likely to knock it down without it ever reopening.

He added: “One of the options might be to reopen the higher level – if the structural engineers say ‘we have secured that, you can reopen the upper level of the flyover’. [But] if we manage to finalise the plans in terms of demolition and the costings of those, which I think is the most likely scenario, I don’t think it is feasible to reopen the upper level only to then start demolishing it which would cause further disruption.”

The Government has so far refused to commit any funding to the flyover works, though North East mayor Kim McGuinness has said she is willing to help the council pay for its demolition. There have been plans to remove the flyover and build a tree-lined boulevard in its place since 2008, but they have never been funded.

Past estimates have suggested the cost would be anywhere between £13 million and £74 million, depending on the extent of the regeneration works, figures that would likely be higher today due to inflation rates.