Tyne Pedestrian and Cyclist Tunnel saga finally at an end as glass lifts open after years of delays

A renovation of the Tyne Pedestrian and Cyclist Tunnel has been completed at last, more than a decade after works began.

The final stage of the long-running refurbishment at the grade II-listed tunnel has now reached its conclusion, with the successful opening of two inclined glass lifts. While the crossing, which connects Jarrow and Howdon, reopened to the public in summer 2019, the installation of the bespoke lifts has proved a major headache ever since.

Multiple setbacks blamed on issues including the disruption caused by Covid-19, replacing an Italian contractor, and difficulty acquiring parts, have seen the works delayed by several years.

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But the long wait for the lifts to become operational is now over, after they opened on Monday this week. The two lifts, located at either end of the tunnel, can carry up to 21 people at once and a journey from top to bottom takes just over a minute.

It was previously revealed in 2020 that the cost of the entire tunnel renovation, which began in 2013, stood then at £16.9m – far above the initial £6.9m budgeted for. A spokesperson for the North East Combined Authority (NECA) said this week that the ultimate cost of the scheme including the completed lift installations was not yet known, but is expected to be finalised in the coming months.

Gateshead Council leader Martin Gannon, NECA’s cabinet member for transport, said: “I am pleased to see that the glass inclined lifts at the Tyne Pedestrian and Cyclist Tunnels have now been brought into service. The project has been impacted by a number of operational challenges which were made much worse by the pandemic, so I am pleased that the public will at last be able to make use of the inclined lifts for their journeys.”

Restoration work at the crossing, which originally opened in the 1950s and features separate tunnels for pedestrians and cyclists, had already been heavily delayed by the time it reopened in 2019 due to the discovery of asbestos and contractor GB Building Solutions going bust. Engineers from Maspero Elevatori, the Italy-based firm which was originally tasked with the glass lift installation, was then left unable to travel to the UK when lockdown restrictions were imposed in 2020.

It was subsequently replaced by British company Lift Design in 2021, whose managing director Paul Britton has been thrilled to see the public’s reaction this week after “a lot of ups and downs” during the works. Mr Britton said that his firm found “quite a lot of issues and problems with the infrastructure of the lift and how it had been assembled and installed” when it came on board.

His engineers replaced the lift cabins and doors, while experts from the USA were recruited to help improve the ride quality of the elevator.

Mr Britton added: “Over the time we have been doing the lifts we have had a lot of interest from passers-by and people wanting to know what is going on with the lifts. There is a genuine love for this tunnel, the steps, and the memories that a lot of people have of using the tunnel from when they were children.

“It has been tremendous to see the joy. To see the genuine joy from people using the lifts has been a tremendous end to a difficult project.”