Linthorpe Road cycle lane won't be gone until 2026
The removal of the despised Linthorpe Road cycle lane isn’t going to be completed until summer 2026.
The confirmation comes from Middlesbrough Council, after a sign was spotted on Linthorpe Road explaining that work is set to begin this month and run until summer of next year. The decision was taken to remove the route earlier this year, in a move supported by the local council and Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA).
A council spokesman has said that the aim is to complete the removal as quickly as possible, highlighting some infrastructure that has already gone. Tees Valley Conservative Mayor Ben Houchen meanwhile has said that the council has questions to answer about why it is taking so long.
Previously, Mayor Houchen set out his belief that removal would take a matter of weeks once spades were in the ground, whilst a senior council officer thought it would take six months from start to finish. Both of these estimates have ended up being far from reality.
Alongside detailing the dates of the upcoming works, the temporary sign on Linthorpe Road added: “We apologise for any inconvenience caused during these works. Thank you for your patience and cooperation.”
Speaking earlier this year in May about how he saw the timeline, Mayor Houchen said: “When we get a spade in the ground, per say, it’ll take about eight weeks to actually take it out.”
Responding to the news that removal is going to take the best part of a year, Mayor Houchen said: “We were told that this would happen much faster. The fact that it will take a year to remove a cycle lane tells you everything you need to know about Middlesbrough Council’s ability to procure and deliver anything.
“It should be celebrated that it’s finally being removed, but this is madness – and the council needs to explain why it is taking them this long now that we have fully funded the works. To put this in perspective, we built a £114m, 450m long Heavy Lift Quay in less time than it will take Middlesbrough Council to remove a cycle lane”.
At Middlesbrough’s full council meeting, held on Wednesday September 10, Conservative Councillor Luke Mason challenged Middlesbrough Labour Mayor Chris Cooke directly over the “ridiculous” timeline, adding: “I think it would be possible to rebuild the entirety of Linthorpe Road within that time.”
Mayor Cooke responded that the removal of the cycle lane would be completed with no road closures, describing it as “quite a win”, he also explained that it is the contractor who has set those time parameters, which Mayor Cooke said that Mayor Houchen was aware of.
TVCA is footing the bill of more than £2m to strip out the cycle lanes and reinstate the road, after government funding was originally used to install the cycle lanes. Work on the original project was completed in September 2022, after the council received £1.7m in government funding through the TVCA to encourage active travel.
As has been reported previously, getting to a point of removal has been anything but simple, with an argument in October 2024 between Mayor Houchen and Mayor Cooke over who was at fault for delays. Members of the public and the majority of businesses want the cycle lane gone, a message that was clear when consultation took place in summer 2024, and when individuals recently spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
Last month, it was confirmed that more than £85,000 had been dished out by the council’s insurers, in response to injuries caused by the cycle lane, with six of the total 25 claims still unresolved.
The new timeline is significantly longer than what council officers have previously hoped for. Speaking in February, Geoff Field, director of environment and community services at Middlesbrough Council said: “The estimated time we’ve been given from start to completion is six months, so I suppose the headline is out by Christmas.”
The council has now confirmed that Esh Construction will start work on Monday September 15, with completion due by next summer. Two-way traffic will be maintained on Linthorpe Road during the day throughout, with most work undertaken between 7.30am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. Road surfacing work will be undertaken off-peak as required, with temporary road closures and localised diversions in place.
A Middlesbrough Council spokesman said some work to remove elements of the cycle lane infrastructure had already taken place, adding: “We aim to complete the removal as quickly as possible, and will ensure that local residents and businesses are kept up to date with the information they need.
“While some disruption is inevitable, every effort will be made to keep that to a minimum, and we are grateful to the public for their patience and understand