Cyclist tunnel revamp went £11m over budget

THE cost of the heavily-delayed renovation of the Tyne Pedestrian and Cyclist Tunnel was more than £11m higher than planned. A lengthy refurbishment of the river crossing took more than a decade to complete, after the project suffered from a range of setbacks.

- DANIEL HOLLAND Local democrcy reporter [e-mail]

The final stage of the works was completed 12 months ago, when two bespoke glass lifts were finally unveiled to the public. North East transport bosses have now confirmed to the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the final bill for the revamp of the 1950s tunnel came in at £18.2m significantly more than the initial expected cost of £6.9m.