Middlesbrough: Transporter Bridge review to be complete by autumn

The Tees Transporter Bridge has been closed since 2019

A structural review of Middlesbrough's Transporter Bridge is due to be completed in the autumn.

The 112-year-old crossing over the River Tees has been closed since 2019 when a previous report found it to be in a "dangerous" state.

Middlesbrough Council said it would consider options for the bridge's future once the assessment was completed.

A team of structural engineers was employed in 2020 to assess the issues.

Last summer, Middlesbrough mayor Andy Preston said the situation facing the bridge was much worse than initially thought.

Mr Preston revealed one of the legs was sinking which was damaging the steel framework.

He said he was "committed to not only protecting our landmark but bringing it back into use".

The mayor suggested repairing the bridge may cost anything from £15m to £25m but it would be "much more than we all hoped".

The Transporter Bridge opened in 1911 and uses a gondola to carry vehicles across the Tees

In 2020, plans emerged for two options for the future of the bridge.

One was to transform it into a leisure attraction while the other was to fix it so it could carry passengers at peak times.

Middlesbrough and Stockton Council have shared responsibility for the Transporter but Middlesbrough takes the lead in overseeing it.

A Middlesbrough Council spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that once the assessment is complete a "number of options will be drawn up with associated costs".

"Any final decision on a future operating model for the bridge will be decided by council."