Latest on Gateshead Flyover as council confirm when demolition will begin

The A167 Gateshead Highway flyover was closed in mid-December last year due to safety concerns and has since been earmarked for removal.

The route, which previously carried around 40,000 vehicles a day, remains closed off and Gateshead Council formally agreed in March that it should be torn down to help make way for a wider town centre regeneration.

However, the local authority confirmed on Tuesday that detailed demolition plans are yet to be finalised.

The council says that residents awaiting progress on the flyover’s removal can expect to see preliminary works preparing the 1960s-built concrete structure for demolition to begin in June, with the actual demolition now scheduled for the autumn.

Gateshead Council leader Martin Gannon said: “To make a real difference to Gateshead’s future and the prosperity of our residents, we need to do something radical to attract inward investment. The flyover is an eyesore and isn’t a structure that we need any more in terms of transport.

“We are taking the opportunity this closure has presented us with, to demolish the flyover, helping us make Gateshead and the town centre attractive for residents and businesses, as well as for visitors – and for investors. We want to keep our Gateshead pound local which in turn benefits our residents and our shared prosperity.”

Coun Gannon said in March that the flyover will be “gone within a year, for definite”, while the council has provisionally earmarked £18 million for the works. It is understood that the aim is still to complete the demolition by the close of the 2025/26 financial year next March.

The council added that it was also planning a campaign encouraging people to shop in the town centre, with high street traders having warned the disruption caused by the flyover closure risked killing off local businesses.

It was December 13 when the flyover was suddenly closed off, amid concerns about its structural integrity. 

That sparked a festive travel crisis on Tyneside, with underground Metro services having to be suspended due to fears that the flyover might collapse.

Repairs have since been carried out to encase two failing pillars in new concrete and reinforce the structure.

Its removal has long been envisioned as part of a wider development of Gateshead town centre, however. 

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Council chiefs have held ambitions since 2008 of removing the flyover and replacing it with a tree-lined boulevard, opening up opportunities for new housing and jobs.

But those plans have never had the funding to proceed and there have been repeated warnings that any future development will be reliant on Government support.

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