Flyover demolition to start next week

GATESHEAD HIGHWAY FLYOVER HAS STOOD EMPTY FOR 10 MONTHS

- By DANIEL HODGSON Local democracy reporter

Council leader Martin Gannon with strategic director for economy and innovation Anneliese Hutchinson

DEMOLITION works around the Gateshead Flyover will finally begin next week but the removal of the deserted highway itself will not start until 2026.

The A167 Gateshead Highway flyover has been out of use for 10 months, having been shut last December amid fears that it was at risk of collapse.

Gateshead Council has now announced long-awaited details of when the crumbling concrete structure will be torn down. Before the flyover itself is removed, the council says that the vacant Computer House building at the south end of Gateshead High Street will be demolished first to allow engineers full access to the elevated highway.

Contractors are set to move onto a compound next to the Sunderland Road bus lane on Monday, October 20, to begin the project. BAM Nuttall and Thompsons of Prudhoe are then expected to start demolishing the flyover early in the new year, with hopes that it will be largely gone by May 2026 and clear the way for potential regeneration works to improve the surrounding town centre.