Gateshead flyover demolition to be agreed
Demolition of the Gateshead Flyover is due to be signed off by politicians next week.
Plans to tear down the A167 Gateshead Highway will be put to Gateshead Council’s cabinet next Tuesday, three months on from the route’s sudden closure.
The “eyesore” flyover was shut to all traffic in mid-December due to concerns that it was in danger of collapse and a report published ahead of next week’s meeting describes the 1960s-built structure as “inherently unsafe”.
While the council has provisionally earmarked £18 million for the demolition works, both the total cost of removing the flyover and the timescale for doing so remain unclear.
The ongoing closure of the flyover has already prompted pleas for action from businesses on Gateshead High Street, who fear a lack of town centre footfall could kill them off before any redevelopment can be carried out.
Last Sunday, work was completed on interim repairs which saw two defective pillars encased in new concrete to reinforce the flyover, which previously carried an estimated 40,000 vehicles per day, and allow the Sunderland Road bus lane to be reopened.
It has been widely expected that the structure would ultimately be demolished without ever reopening to traffic, but that decision is set to be formalised at Tuesday’s cabinet meeting.
The council’s Labour administration will be asked to formally endorse “demolishing the flyover as soon as possible”.
It is stated that the demolition is expected to be completed “in the next financial year”, with council leader Martin Gannon having recently suggested the work could take 12 months or less, but no firm timetable has been set for that to take place.
The report adds that the £18 million set aside in the council 2025/26 budget had been increased from an initial £10 million and “accounts for many unknowns and helps avoid problems if progress doesn’t go as smoothly as expected”, though the full costs and methodology for the works remain under discussion.
North East mayor Kim McGuinness has also indicated previously that she would be willing to help fund the flyover’s removal.
The cabinet report details how the highway has “long-standing issues with water drainage that have caused rust and cracks”, with concerns about concrete “bursting” and steel tendons being in a “poor condition”.
It adds that repairing the flyover to bring it back into use would cost at least £5.7 million, but could potentially run far higher, and would not be able to solve the structure’s root problems with water seeping into it.
The report concludes: “Demolition is the best option due to serious safety concerns, high repair costs, the flyover’s age, and the potential for future regeneration. The structure is inherently unsafe and has reached the end of its useful life.”
Knocking down the elevated highway to replace it with a tree-lined boulevard that it is hoped would allow for a broader revitalisation of Gateshead town centre has been an aim of the council since 2008.
But those plans have never got off the ground, with past attempts to secure Government funding having failed, while current Labour ministers have not committed to providing financial backing for a regeneration drive.
Coun Gannon said: : “We have spent millions over the years propping up and repairing this structure, and we will have to keep on doing this unless we pull it down.
“We have been clear over the years that if we are to make a real difference to Gateshead’s future and the prosperity of our residents, then we need to do something radical to attract inward investment. The flyover is an eyesore and isn’t a necessary structure that we need in terms of transport.
“Traffic issues have not seen a significant increase following its closure, which tells us what we always thought – that drivers were using Gateshead as a commuter route into Newcastle, rather than this being a necessary road for our residents to get about the borough and to local shops.
“We need to take the opportunity this closure has presented us with, and that is to demolish the flyover ideally within the year, paving the way for us to make Gateshead and the town centre attractive for investors, businesses, residents, and visitors. This is how we will increase footfall into this area, and how we will increase spend in our borough, keeping our Gateshead pound local which in turn benefits our residents and our shared prosperity.”
The council has also warned that a demolition would also involve the removal of pedestrian footbridges at the Five Bridges roundabout.
The Five Bridges Skatepark would also have to be closed during the works and the local authority says it is “liaising with user representatives to find alternative solutions”.