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Congestion on busy crossing will get worse

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
Published date05 April 2024
Publication titleEvening Chronicle
Yesterday marked the start of allday restrictions that will close two of the bridge's four lanes for at least the next two years, halving the capacity of one of Tyneside's busiest routes

The lane closures will be in place during a large section of the crossing's long-awaited refurbishment, which began earlier this week.

Drivers heading south on the Central Motorway appeared to suffer the worst delays yesterday, with journey times to travel 3.5 miles south from

Cowgate to the Gateshead side of the bridge hitting around 60 minutes during the evening rush hour - compared to just nine minutes before the works started.

And with traffic levels lower than usual during the Easter school holidays, city transport chiefs expect that there will be even heavier travel disruption from Monday, April 15.

People have been urged to avoid the bridge during its renovation, either by driving via other routes such as the Tyne Tunnel and A1 or by making the switch to bus, Metro, walking or cycling.

The Tyne Bridge works are expected to last for the next four years, with hopes that the North East icon will be back to its best in time to celebrate its October 2028 centenary, and the lane closures will be in place for at least the first two of those. Alastair Swan, principal engineer at Newcastle City Council, said: "The lane restrictions are now in place, with the bridge reduced to one lane in each direction, as this major refurbishment gets under way.

"As we're in the Easter school holidays, traffic is lighter but there could be significant delays of up to 40 minutes at peak hours once normal traffic levels return.

"People need to plan their journeys, think about alternatives, whether they take public transport, or active travel options such as walking or cycling, or use the many park and ride facilities available.

"We've got full travel advice at www.tynebridge.org to help keep Tyneside moving throughout the refurbishment programme."

An online tool has been set up by cycling and walking group Space for Heaton to monitor journey times on the main approaches to the Tyne Bridge.

It showed that, during the morning rush...

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