Gateshead Flyover demolition to begin next week
BAM Nuttall and Thompsons of Prudhoe will start to knock down nearby Computer House from Monday, clearing way for access to the elevated 1960s concrete structure early next year.
Gateshead Flyover has been unused for 10 months, after safety concerns about it crumbling led to its closure last December.
Located at the south end of Gateshead High Street, Computer House is a vacant office building.
BAM and Thompsons will move into a compound next to the Sunderland Road bus lane on 20 October, and expect to have cleared most of the flyover structure by May 2026.
Once the flyover has gone, regeneration plans to improve the surrounding town centre can commence, with Gateshead stating that it envisions a new neighbourhood designed around people rather than traffic, with sustainable council homes built on the wider site.
Gateshead Council has set aside £18m for the demolition with a further £2.5m pledged by the North East Combined Authority.
The flyover was built using post-tensioned reinforced concrete, and the 900m structure is made up of three independent sections, along with the two footbridges at the south end which stand separately, which are also of post-tensioned concrete construction.
Council leader Martin Gannon said: “This demolition programme will be a major step towards creating an expanded and renewed town centre, fit for the future.
“The removal of the flyover and some surrounding buildings will open up huge opportunities for regenerating this area, making space for the creation of a stronger community of businesses and good quality housing here.
“We appreciate that Gateshead residents, and people across Tyneside, just want to see the flyover down, and we’re all impatient for that to happen, but we hope people will appreciate that having such a complex project signed off and the legalities and finances of a detailed contract agreed in under ten months is significantly faster than normal for a large infrastructure project.”
