Bridge cash is just the start, says Chancellor

£1BN TO FIX ROADS UNVEILED NEAR CONDEMNED FLYOVER

- By DANIEL HOLLAND

RACHEL Reeves has promised that completing the restoration of the Tyne Bridge will be just the first step in fixing up the North East's crumbling infrastructure.

The Chancellor was on Tyneside yesterday morning to champion a £1 billion investment upgrading and repairing run-down transport links, speaking just a stone's throw away from the condemned Gateshead Flyover that has stood disused for the past six months.

It was confirmed ahead of last week's Spending Review that the final £6 million needed to finish the Tyne Bridge's refurbishment would be drawn from a £1.85bn funding package being handed to regional mayor Kim McGuinness.

Ms Reeves' latest pledge, as the Treasury prepares to unveil a £745bn infrastructure spending strategy for the next decade, is a Structures Fund targeted at "run-down bridges, decaying flyovers and worn out tunnels".