It’s been nearly a week since the Gateshead Flyover was immediately closed over major structural safety concerns. I spoke with members of the public about their views on the closure and how it’s impacting their daily commutes.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Plans had first been unveiled by the Labour-led council in 2008 to replace the flyover with
00:05a tree-lined boulevard.
00:07Council papers show that there were plans in 2019 to bid for government funding to remove
00:10the flyover.
00:11However, the £18 million scheme wasn't awarded money from the Highway Maintenance
00:15Challenge Fund.
00:16I spoke with members of the public to see if the closure has affected their day-to-day
00:20lives and how they think the closure is being handled.
00:23Yes, I've heard about the problems with the flyover at Gateshead, but it's been like that
00:28for many years now.
00:31The government has just consistently failed to put in the funding that's been requested
00:35by Gateshead Council.
00:37There's a chance that they might be looking at it this time possibly, Department for Transport,
00:41but who knows.
00:42But it's such a main artery that it causes chaos, especially with the Tyne Bridge being
00:46the way it is now.
00:48So yeah, it does cause problems.
00:50Not for me so much because I get the Metro often, but it's just a shame that they keep
00:55doing this.
00:56The government does this to Gateshead quite a lot.
00:58I don't know what choice they've got but to do something to repair and reopen it because
01:03where would all that traffic go?
01:04It's a phenomenal volume of traffic that goes over there.
01:06I was surprised when I read the report.
01:08I couldn't believe.
01:09I used to commute over there every day when I worked at the far side of Gateshead and
01:14worked for Gateshead Council.
01:16So without that, getting from this side of the Tyne right through to the west side of
01:22Gateshead would be just a nightmare journey, really, just all small roads.
01:27I saw that the Gateshead fire was closed, I think, on the Chronicle last week and it
01:31really annoyed me considering that the Tyne Bridge is already at one lane.
01:34It's already a nightmare trying to cross the bridge.
01:37And I live down the quayside near St Peter's Basin and trying to get into work is already
01:41an absolute hassle because I work on the other side of the river.
01:44So I'm really annoyed the traffic is just going to be a lot worse and it's affected
01:48pretty much everyone at our work on the other side of the river.
01:51I don't know if it will ever reopen.
01:53It would be nice if it does.
01:54I mean, in a way, it's good that it might encourage more people to car share and use
01:58their bikes and things.