Mayor pledges £2.5m towards flyover levelling

THE North East mayor has committed more than £2m to help pay for the demolition of the Gateshead Flyover.

- DANIEL HOLLAND

Kim McGuinness confirmed on Monday afternoon that the North East Combined Authority (NECA) will put £2.5 million towards the cost of removing the condemned highway, which has been closed for more than six months.

The A167 flyover was shut in December last year due to concerns that it was at risk of collapse, sparking a travel crisis on Tyneside as all Metro services running underneath the town centre road had to be suspended for almost two weeks. While the 1960s built structure has since been reinforced with new concrete to encase two of the piers which support the road, it has never reopened to traffic and is due to be torn down.