High Level Bridge Reopens 2nd June 2008
After seven years of work and £40m of investment, the High Level Bridge between Newcastle and Gateshead will finally re-open to road traffic, pedestrians and cyclists next Monday (2 June).
The bridge, which was closed to road traffic in 2005, will re-open for buses and taxis only and only in a southbound direction - restrictions imposed because of the need to reduce vehicle loads on the bridge and because the carriageway has had to be narrowed to a single lane to allow safety barriers to be fitted.
When restoration work on the road deck began, the bridge was found to be in a much more fragile condition than first thought. Engineers had to develop new techniques to strengthen the 160 year old cast iron bridge, a process made more difficult by its Grade 1 Listing.
More than 1,600 tonnes of scaffold were used in the restoration project, with 610 tonnes of new steel and 252 tonnes of timber also used. Around 75,000 litres of paint were applied to the bridge to restore it to its original colour.
At the peak of the restoration project, more than 160 engineers and operatives, and 30 managers worked 24 hours a day, 12 days in every 14.
The bridge will re-open to the public at 5.00am on Monday 2 June.