North Tyneside Council continues to make good progress on a ‘highly complex’ scheme to replace Norham Road Bridge, despite a number of challenges.
The bridge is being replaced as part of a £130m investment in the highways network, having come to the end of its lifespan, and can no longer adequately cope with increased traffic as local businesses continue to grow.
The new bridge will last twice as long and be twice as wide to allow traffic controls that will make the junction much safer and easier to use for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians.
But the project has been complicated by the enormous volume of traffic that continues to pass beneath the bridge each day and is now on course for completion this summer.
Around 60,000 car journeys are made beneath the bridge on a daily basis, which has made the work painstaking, while additional work was required on the beams crossing the Coast Road and the walls tying the bridge to the embankment.
Once complete, the bridge will be the final piece in a major set of changes to the end of the Coast Road in North Shields; Beach Road has been broadened and Billy Mill roundabout replaced with traffic lights. This represents over £7m of local investment to make the area safer, shorten journey times and support local business.
Paul Hanson, Deputy Chief Executive of North Tyneside Council, said: “The council has successfully delivered some major improvements to the highways network that will make it easier and safer to get around North Tyneside.
"The bridge replacement at Norham Road is a highly complex project and taking a bit longer than we hoped. Once it is complete, however, we know it will make a big difference to lots of people. We are really grateful for the patience of residents, travellers, and local businesses, which have remained open throughout the works.”