Gateshead Flyover: Latest on abandoned and crumbling eyesore a year since sudden closure

Today [Saturday, December 13] marks exactly 12 months since the A167 Gateshead Highway flyover was suddenly shut down after major safety fears over its concrete pillars emerged.

The emergency closure of one of the region’s busiest roads sparked a travel crisis, the height of which came last Christmas when all Tyne and Wear Metro services between Gateshead and Newcastle had to be shut down for almost two weeks while engineers hurriedly worked to shore up the 1960s-built structure to prevent it collapsing.

And it has become a source of immense frustration for local businesses, particularly those on the adjacent Gateshead High Street, who have been left fearing that a downturn in trade and reputational damage to the town will leave them struggling to survive.

While it remains deserted and decaying, the flyover still stands – a concrete monument to decline that continues to await its promised demolition.

The removal of the flyover itself is now expected to start in the new year, after the neighbouring Computer House is torn down, with council leader Martin Gannon saying the structure should be mostly demolished by May.

He had previously pledged last March that the flyover would be gone “within a year” and hopes that the demolition would begin in the autumn came and went.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) this week, Coun Gannon insisted it had been a “really significant achievement” for the council to have put a demolition plan in place for what is an “immensely complex structure” within 12 months.

Contractors BAM has this week cleared trees from either side of the flyover ahead of the demolition, while Computer House has been completely stripped out and is being covered in scaffolding ready for it to be torn down floor by floor.

Coun Gannon added that he wants to flyover down “as rapidly as possible” but warned that contractors cannot “magically lift it out overnight”, with there still being significant uncertainty over whether a repeat of the Metro shutdown will be needed.

He said: “For five decades, this concrete structure has run through the heart of Gateshead, and it’s had a huge influence on how the whole town functions.

“We recognise it’s been difficult for everybody to manage local journeys since the flyover had to be shut down.

“But we are now glad to look forward to a brighter future and the amazing opportunities this demolition work will open up for Gateshead.”

The flyover crisis has been just one major blow to the town over the past year, compounded by the news that the Union Electric Steel plant just a stone’s throw from the highway will be shutting down.

Ongoing delays and doubt surrounding the stalled plans for an international conference centre and arena on the Gateshead Quays have also cast a shadow over the area, though it is hoped that the flyover’s removal can open up fresh opportunities for regeneration.

Phil Davies, of the Downcast recording studio and live music venue in Park Lane, recently saw his business lose power for several weeks due to preparatory works around the flyover.

He told the LDRS: “I don’t want to complain too much. It has to come down and unfortunately we are where we are. But it has made things quite hard for us.

“Trying to run things off a generator, we kept having power cuts because it wasn’t giving us enough power. We had to pull a few shows during the gig or limit how much we were running. We had to pull some rehearsals too.”

Mr Davies has also called for clearer information about how and when the flyover demolition will finally happen and what it will mean for surrounding businesses, particularly Downcast’s Bandito’s Kitchen diner.

He added: “I see the backlash the council is getting and I fully understand it. The flyover does need to come down but I wish there was a bit more information, especially for those of us right on the doorstep.

“Is there going to be dust everywhere? Are we going to need to close for a day, for 10 days, for a month? We are trying to build the food side of the business and if this is going to be disruptive then it could be damaging to us.”

Council bosses have opted to gradually “munch” the concrete off the flyover using excavators rather than as the “lowest risk” form of demolition, rather than an explosion or trying to lift off sections of the 900m structure to be broken down elsewhere

Anneliese Hutchinson, the council’s strategic director for the economy, innovation and growth, said: “This is a major project in the heart of the urban area and we are planning the demolition to cause the least disruption we can so roads, buses and the Metro can keep running as far as possible.

“The demolition isn’t entirely controlled by the council as we have to liaise with and rely on other landowners, third parties and utility companies.

“It’s rare to find this level of complexity that has to be tackled in a project and we’re proud of our team for getting the programme progressed this far, this quickly.

“We’re well advanced with the preparations for demolishing the flyover now, with Computer House now stripped out, and BAM have completed some of the least disruptive prep work. As the weeks go by, people will start to see more and more activity around the site. We’ve got a lot to look forward to in Gateshead in 2026.”