The Chronicle (South Tyneside and Durham)
Light at the end of the tunnel after long wait
NEW LIFTS COULD BE READY TO OPEN IN A FEW WEEKS
A long-running saga over renovation works at the Tyne Pedestrian and Cyclist Tunnel could finally be brought to an end within a matter of weeks.
The grade Ii-listed tunnel reopened in summer 2019 following a lengthy refurbishment, but a key element of the troubled works has remained unfinished ever since. The installation of two inclined glass lifts for the crossing, which runs between Jarrow and Howdon, has been plagued by a series of setbacks.
Multiple delays to the bespoke elevators have been blamed on a variety of factors, including disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and a split from the project’s original Italian contractors.
But transport bosses say that the lifts are now in the “final stages” of being tested and should be open to the public by this summer, at last marking the end of a restoration scheme that started more than a decade ago.
An update due to be presented to councillors next week states: “Final completion of the inclined lifts is still awaited as they have proved difficult to complete due to the bespoke nature of the design and issues with the original contractors. The lift contractors have made good progress on the remaining wiring and mechanical systems which control the lift as well as completing the glazing at the lift doors.
“The works are now in the final stages of testing and the contractor is preparing the necessary operating and maintenance documentation.
The certifying body are planning to undertake their final inspection in early May and subject to satisfying the required standards, the lifts should open to the public soon after.
“Once they are operational, the new lifts will be able to carry up to six cyclists and their bikes in one journey.
“Once the inclined lifts have been opened to the public for use, there will be a handover process to TT2 who will resume day-to-day operational responsibility for the TPCT.
“It is planned that the handover will happen in late summer 2024.”
The tunnel was originally closed for the start of its refurbishment in May 2013 and eventually reopened in 2019, several years later than planned following delays caused by the discovery of asbestos and contractor GB Building Solutions going bust.
Remaining works to the glass lifts were then complicated by the Covid-19 pandemic, which left engineers from Italian firm Maspero Elevatori unable to travel to the UK.
Uk-based specialists Lift Design were then appointed in 2021 to take over the project, but hopes that they could quickly finish the installation proved overly ambitious as they struggled to secure parts for the bespoke installation.
The Chronicle revealed in 2020 that the cost of the entire tunnel renovation stood then at £16.9m, way above the initial £6.9m earmarked for the project.
It was later confirmed that the lift works had cost an additional £292,000 in the 2021/22 financial year and that bills of £281,000 were estimated in 2022/23.
Transport North East was unable to provide an updated cost for the works when asked by The Chronicle this week.