At last, newly widened road is ready for handover
A HEAVILY delayed reconstruction project on one of Newcastle’s busiest commuter routes has reached a major milestone.
Killingworth Road, part of the A189 in South Gosforth, has been shut since July 2017 for a £13.5m scheme to widen the road and install a new Metro bridge.
It had been due to re-open last March before the completion date was pushed back to June and now ‘early 2019,’ amid severe complications with gasworks on the site.
But Northern Gas Networks is finally due to hand the site over to Newcastle City Council today for the final stage of the highway widening.
No firm date has been set for the reopening of the road.
Cabinet member for transport and air quality, Coun Arlene Ainsley, said: “I’m pleased that Northern Gas Networks’ part of the project is now complete. This was a hugely complex engineering job which has been hampered by difficulties, including discoveries of asbestos and issues with water pipes which impacted on the project timeline.
“The problems NGN encountered with their works has had a knock-on effect on the wider project timeline as there is still lots of construction work still to do before we can re-open the road.
“As we take over the site, we will soon be able to give a firmer date on the re-opening of the road but it will be in early 2019. We’re committed to opening the road to two-way traffic as soon as it is safe and practical to do so, but there will still be lots of activity on site as we complete the works.
“We appreciate that the delays have been very frustrating for commuters and those living nearby so we would like to thank everyone for their patience.
“But we are now at the stage where people will soon see the new widened road taking shape.”
The road closed on July 20, 2017, for the works, which involve widening the road for an extended pavement, bus lane and cycle lane.
Nexus completed its installation of the new Metro bridge on schedule in September 2017, but NGN’s work to divert three gas mains has been plagued with difficulties.
Multiple reasons for the delays have included the discovery of asbestos, a “labyrinth of utility pipes and old infrastructure” beneath the city, bad weather and land slippage issues.
Tim Harwood, head of major projects at NGN, said: “From an engineering perspective this was a highly complex programme and we apologise for any disruption our customers experienced as the works took place.
“We greatly appreciate the patience shown by residents on Killingworth Road and Salters Lane, and would like to thank the local community for their support as we worked to complete our section of the scheme as safely and quickly as possible.
“As a gesture of our appreciation, we’ll be making a donation of £1,650 to Maggie’s Newcastle, for the fantastic support they give to families living with cancer.”
Council contractors must now carry out major earthworks and complete construction of a retaining wall.
It is expected some construction work will still be ongoing when the road re-opens in both directions early next year.