Road closures as rail line bridge work begins

Work on the new station continues

Partial road closures will be in place from Wednesday as work is carried out on a rail line.

The closures on the Spine Road (A189), in Northumberland, will take place between 17 April and 17 May, while a footbridge is constructed.

The structure will help provide access to the new Northumberland Line station at Blyth Bebside.

Northumberland Line bosses apologised for the disruption.

The road closures are:

• One lane on the northbound carriageway at Kitty Brewster, between 09:30 BST and 15:30, from 17 April until 3 May

• One lane on the slip road to the Kitty Brewster Asda bridge

• The southbound carriageway will be closed entirely between 20.00 and 06:00 from 29 April until 17 May

• The entry slip road to the Asda bridge will have one lane closed

There will be a 50mph speed limit past the site on the southbound A189, from the Kitty Brewster interchange towards the Three Horseshoes roundabout, for the duration of the work.

A diversion will be in place via the Bedlington Station Interchange.

Further disruption

The closures are to allow construction of the abutments of the footbridge at Blyth Bebside.

An abutment is a structure which connects the deck of the bridge to the ground, at either end of the bridge itself.

The footbridge will provide safe access to the new station, which is one of three that has seen its opening delayed until 2025.

In a letter to residents, Northumberland Line bosses confirmed further disruption was likely when the footbridges were installed, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

A start date for this work is yet to be decided.