Warning over disruption from motorway work

MAJOR roadworks through the heart of Newcastle are set to cause even more travel chaos for the next 18 months, council bosses have warned.

- DANIEL HOLLAND

A £9m programme of upgrade to the A167(M) Central Motorway is due to begin in August and drivers have been told the project will be "highly disruptive".

Engineers will be tasked with making repairs to the decayed concrete on the elevated viaduct section of the motorway, which runs from the junction with the Great North Road to the New Bridge Street roundabout in the city centre.

Safety checks carried out on the 1970s structure earlier this year confirmed it had deteriorated, though transport bosses have said the structural issues are not as urgent as those which forced the closure of the Gateshead Flyover last December.

The works will require the Central Motorway to be reduced to one lane in each direction during the daytime, and for the busy route - used by up to 80,000 vehicles a day - to be fully closed overnight.

Restrictions will start to come into force in the week of August 11.