Overnight closures required for Gateshead Highway flyover
The roundabouts at either end of the Gateshead Highway flyover and the bus only link midway along it will each be closed overnight next week, to enable checks on the concrete structure.
Only one section will be closed on each night, from 10pm to 6am the following days:
- Wednesday 6 August - Park Lane Roundabout and approach ramps
- Thursday 7 August - Sunderland Road bus only link
- Friday 8 August - Bellevue Roundabout (junction of A167, B1426, also known as Five Bridges)
- Saturday 9 August - Park Lane Roundabout and approach ramps
These checks are being carried out to ensure the safety of the travelling public as the council moves towards the demolition of the flyover this autumn.
The council has always checked the integrity of the flyover structure on a regular basis, and it was one of those regular checks which led to the closure in December 2024.
However, next week's checks are focused simply on the concrete edging and the underside of the bridge deck to ensure no problems emerge before the demolition work begins in earnest.
Contractor Esh Construction will be completing the checks for the council.
Anneliese Hutchinson, strategic director for economy, innovation and growth at Gateshead Council, said:
"These surveys are necessary to ensure the safety of everyone travelling in the area and will be completed overnight to minimise disruption.
"Meanwhile we are continuing to work hard behind the scenes to bring the demolition programme forward.
"The flyover is a complex structure, and we have to be very careful with post-tensioned concrete, so it's really important to develop a comprehensive demolition programme with our specialist contractors to bring the flyover down safely.
"Normally this preparation work can take years to complete but we've been able to accelerate this to ensure we can remove the flyover as soon as possible."
Our highways team have been working closely with other departments and with Newcastle City Council to coordinate the timing of the closures, to minimise disruption to the wider road network.
Newcastle City Council has already announced that work will begin mid-August on the A167 Central Motorway, which will be after Gateshead's surveys on the flyover are complete.
The roundabouts at either end of the Gateshead Highway flyover and the bus only link midway along it will each be closed overnight next week, to enable checks on the concrete structure.
Only one section will be closed on each night, from 10pm to 6am the following days:
- Wednesday 6 August - Park Lane Roundabout and approach ramps
- Thursday 7 August - Sunderland Road bus only link
- Friday 8 August - Bellevue Roundabout (junction of A167, B1426, also known as Five Bridges)
- Saturday 9 August - Park Lane Roundabout and approach ramps
These checks are being carried out to ensure the safety of the travelling public as the council moves towards the demolition of the flyover this autumn.
The council has always checked the integrity of the flyover structure on a regular basis, and it was one of those regular checks which led to the closure in December 2024.
However, next week's checks are focused simply on the concrete edging and the underside of the bridge deck to ensure no problems emerge before the demolition work begins in earnest.
Contractor Esh Construction will be completing the checks for the council.
Anneliese Hutchinson, strategic director for economy, innovation and growth at Gateshead Council, said:
"These surveys are necessary to ensure the safety of everyone travelling in the area and will be completed overnight to minimise disruption.
"Meanwhile we are continuing to work hard behind the scenes to bring the demolition programme forward.
"The flyover is a complex structure, and we have to be very careful with post-tensioned concrete, so it's really important to develop a comprehensive demolition programme with our specialist contractors to bring the flyover down safely.
"Normally this preparation work can take years to complete but we've been able to accelerate this to ensure we can remove the flyover as soon as possible."
Our highways team have been working closely with other departments and with Newcastle City Council to coordinate the timing of the closures, to minimise disruption to the wider road network.
Newcastle City Council has already announced that work will begin mid-August on the A167 Central Motorway, which will be after Gateshead's surveys on the flyover are complete.
