Gateshead flyover demolition work to begin
Demolition of the Gateshead Flyover will finally start today
Demolition of the Gateshead Flyover will finally start today.
Contractors are at last going to begin tearing down the crumbling concrete highway, which has been closed since December 2024 because of safety fears.
Frustration has built over the ongoing presence of the A167 flyover, which runs around the edge of Gateshead town centre.
But today will offer the first glimpse of the main span of the elevated highway, under which huge steel props have now been erected, starting to come down.
‘Nibbling’ machines will gradually eat away at the 1970s structure over the coming months, with the hope being that its removal will be complete by October this year.
The on and off ramps in the centre of the flyover, just to the south of the Sunderland Road bus lane, will be the first elements demolished.
It follows the demolition of the neighbouring Computer House office block.
Once the ramps are removed, focus will move to the section of the flyover directly above the Sunderland Road bus lane, and then further south towards Five Bridges roundabout around June.
Some works will take place around the Park Lane roundabout in May in preparation for that area of the highway to be removed, but the actual demolition there will be during the summer.
The last section of the work, in the early autumn, will be on the areas directly above the underground Tyne and Wear Metro tunnels.
Concerns that the flyover was at risk of collapse led to all Metro services across the River Tyne to be suspended in late 2024, causing a travel crisis either side of Christmas.
The full impact of the demolition works on the underground Metro tunnels is not yet certain, though Gateshead Council bosses hope that they will not have to be closed again.
Scott Beattie, operations manager at contractors BAM said last month: “Safety and minimising disruption are at the heart of our approach. We’re installing protective screens, have established dedicated haul roads, and put in place robust traffic and pedestrian management plans.
“We are working closely with Gateshead Council to keep the town moving as effectively as possible whilst the demolition takes place.
“With our partners, we are committed to delivering this complex project while supporting the wider regeneration of the town.”
Council leader Martin Gannon had previously pledged in March last year that the flyover would be gone “within a year”, before the local authority later said that it would be largely demolished by May 2026.
That target end date has now been pushed back to the autumn of this year.
It is hoped that the removal of the flyover can act as a catalyst for the major regeneration of the area.