Why was it built in the first place, asks council leader

A YEAR on from the closure of the Gateshead Flyover, council leader Martin Gannon is plagued by the question: 'Why the hell did they build it in the first place?'

- DANIEL HOLLAND Local Democracy Reporter

Coun Gannon calls the structure a "road from nowhere to nowhere".

Today marks 12 months since the sudden decision to shut one of Tyneside's busiest roads, having previously carried 40,000 vehicles a day, due to safety concerns about crumbling concrete on two of the pillars which hold it up.

The decaying state of the flyover has been plain to see for many years and the disruption that its closure has caused has become a source of major frustration in Gateshead and beyond, with the doomed structure's demolition yet to begin.

It is now hoped that the flyover will be largely gone by May 2026, though there remains uncertainty over how long it will take to remove and what knock-on effects it will have - particularly whether another shutdown of the Tyne and Wear Metro tunnels beneath will be required, as was the case last Christmas.

A vision to demolish the flyover to make way for a major town centre regeneration has been in the works since 2008, but was never funded.