Lane closures begin on city centre motorway

Lane closures on the A167(M) Central Motorway are set to last 18 months

Drivers have been warned to allow extra time for their journeys as "disruptive" roadworks begin on a city centre motorway.

Daytime lane closures have started on the northbound carriageway of the A167(M) Central Motorway in Newcastle, with work expected to last 18 months.

Newcastle City Council said the works were taking place at the same time as repairs to the Tyne Bridge to reduce the total time motorists were inconvenienced.

The council's assistant director of transport, Pamela Holmes, said work had begun during the school holidays to try and "minimize the impact on the travelling public".

She said the work had been planned since 2018 and would involve replacing 110 bridge deck joints and performing concrete and drainage works.

"It's to make sure we future proof the structure and so it doesn't fall down and we don't put restrictions on it," Ms Holmes told BBC Radio Newcastle.

"We understand this will be disruptive work but it is essential maintenance that we're carrying out."

A167(M) lane closures

Overnight lane closures initially began on 11 August on the southbound carriage but have since ended.

Full overnight closures began on the northbound carriageway on Wednesday and will be in place from 20:00 BST to 06:00.

Motorists will be required to follow diversions during the closures.

The northbound carriageway has now been reduced to one lane during the day.

Lane restrictions and weekday overnight closures on the northbound carriageway and its slip roads will also be in place from 18 August until September.

The work will expand in the autumn when both the northbound and southbound carriageways will be reduced to one lane during the day.

There will also be various overnight closures on both carriageways and key slip roads which, the council said, would be "highly disruptive".

It said the motorway carried 80,000 vehicles a day and warned drivers to plan ahead, allow more time for their journeys and to use public transport during the works.

Why now?

The central motorway roadworks begin just after traffic exits the Tyne Bridge, which is currently undergoing major repair work.

Ms Holmes said the council decided to carry out the maintenance at the same time as the bridge works to minimise the overall disruption to the public.

The repair work to the Tyne Bridge is expected to carry on until 2028.

"We can't wait to do the central motorway works at the end of that," Ms Holmes said, adding: "Otherwise, you would have a four-year project followed by an 18-month project."

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