Norham Road Bridge

The new Norham Road Bridge opened to all traffic on Friday 10 August 2018.

The demolition and reconstruction of the bridge formed the third – and final - part of the A1058 Coast Road Improvement Scheme.

The first two parts of the scheme (the widening of Beach Road and the replacement of the Billy Mill roundabout with a signalised junction) were delivered for the council by its partner, Capita; the new Norham Road Bridge was delivered by Sisk Ltd.

For more information about the wider scheme and the benefits it will deliver, please click here.

The old bridge was more than 50 years old and in need of urgent attention; the new bridge will have an expected lifespan of 120 years.

It was originally proposed that the work would be carried out in two halves enabling one half of the bridge to remain open to vehicles.
This would have needed the introduction of four-way temporary traffic lights resulting in significant congestion along Norham Road and surrounding areas.

Instead, the work was completed in one operation, with pedestrian and cyclist access maintained by retaining a footpath across the Coast Road. With the bridge removed, no traffic lights were needed.

Constructing the new bridge in one operation meant there was less that could go wrong, making it safer for the public and the workforce.

We fully understand that these works did inconvenience residents and businesses and we apologise for the disruption; however, with the new bridge now open, we hope all users will begin to feel the benefits of the new arrangement.

Please note, however, that – as is common on most large engineering projects – there may be some minor snagging and/or remedial works that need to be carried out in the next few weeks.

Any work that may have potential to disrupt journeys or cause inconvenience will be publicised in advance. You may like to subscribe to our e-bulletin service to receive any such alerts (see below for more information) - and we have included the latest bulletins for your information.

The old bridge closed to traffic on Thursday 7 June 2017 prior to demolition - and the new bridge opened on Friday August 10 2018.
 

A major milestone in the scheme to replace Norham Road Bridge was reached at the beginning of July 2017.

With the A1058 Coast Road closed beneath the bridge, contractors moved in with their heavy plant at 8pm on Saturday July 1st to begin the process of demolishing the old bridge.

Please see below for a time-lapse video of the bridge demolition:

Building the bridge in one operation was far simpler and safer than doing it in two phases; there was less that could go wrong. While structural surveys showed that the bridge could operate on one half only, there remained a risk of the bridge failing when work began. Safety issues apart, bridge failure would have led to delays while alternative plans were put in place to demolish and reconstruct the bridge in one operation.

Traffic with bridge retained (four-way traffic lights)

The original plan – to demolish and rebuild each half of the bridge in turn – would have allowed traffic to continue using it, but under four-way traffic signals throughout.

As you can see in the first video below, our traffic modelling made it clear that this would create huge congestion issues.

There would be long traffic queues on Norham Road in both directions – as far as the junctions with Wallsend Road and A191 New York Road - leading to significant rat-running north and south of the bridge.

Access to and from the shops and businesses on Norham Road would be severely impacted and access to Norham Road for local residents in particular would be extremely difficult.

Traffic with bridge removed (no lights)

The second video shows the reduced congestion with the bridge removed and diversions in place.

The revised scheme, although still causing some delays and inconvenience, allows better access to Norham Road for local residents – and better access to and from the shops and businesses in the immediate area.

As part of the revised scheme, the Norham Road and A1058 Coast Road slip road junctions have been altered so that priority is now given to through-traffic on the slip roads. This allows unopposed turning from the slip roads onto Norham Road.

• The new bridge will have a lifespan of around 120 years.
• The new bridge will have two northbound and two southbound lanes, which will increase the bridge’s capacity.
• We will install traffic signals at both slip road junctions, to make it easier for vehicles, particularly buses, to access Norham Road. This will reduce journey times and improve public transport reliability. We will link these signals to those by Tesco for improved co-ordination of traffic movements.
• We will increase waiting capacity for vehicles on Norham Road that are turning right onto the slip roads. This will mean traffic going straight ahead is less likely to be stuck behind turning vehicles.
• We will introduce new signalised pedestrian crossing facilities on A1058 Coast Road entry and exit slip roads. This will make it easier and safer for residents to cross the road.
• We will introduce a Toucan crossing across Norham Road North to enhance the Coast Road Cycle Route for the benefit of cyclists.
• We will widen the slip roads to provide sufficient space for two vehicles side-by-side. This will further reduce the traffic queues on the slip roads.

If you would like get in touch with us about the scheme, please contact:

Email: roads@northtyneside.gov.uk
Telephone: (0191) 643 6500