Update on Redheugh Bridge safety fears as bosses urged not to be 'careless' over crumbling concrete

Just days after the closure of the Gateshead Flyover 12 months ago, it emerged that council bosses also held fears over the state of the Redheugh Bridge.

The crossing, the westernmost of the seven central bridges over the Tyne connecting Newcastle and Gateshead, is now the subject of an ongoing inspection to determine exactly what repairs are needed to deal with cracks and several areas of flaking concrete.

While local authority officials remain confident that the bridge does not pose an imminent danger to the public, councillors asked on Monday for a swift resolution.

Speaking at a meeting of Newcastle and Gateshead’s Joint Tyne Bridges Committee, Liberal Democrat Pauline Allen said: “We are talking about safety and it is not something we can be careless about. I think we need to be addressing these issues as quickly as possible. I thought after last year when we heard that report that more action would be taken. But from the sounds of it we are still in a very difficult situation regarding safety.”

Concerns around the Redheugh Bridge have centred on two sections of spalling concrete on the Newcastle side.

That has led to part of a public car park underneath the northern approach to the bridge being fenced off to prevent passersby from the risk of falling debris, and there is a second area of concern within a private Network Rail car park.

Cracks and spalling have also been seen on the western face of the bridge, while engineers have also reported drainage issues and damage caused when a lorry overturned during high winds last January.

Coun Allen added: “It just sounds unsafe to me. How safe is it? I know the car park has been fenced off and everything, but we did hear about concrete falling off which isn’t good.”

Monday’s committee meeting was told that any major problems arising from ongoing inspections of the Redheugh Bridge, which started last August and should complete during an overnight closure of the structure in January, would be reported immediately but that the councils’ consultants had not yet raised “any big safety concerns”.

While a provisional budget of £1 million had been set aside last year for repairs to the 42-year-old bridge, a revised budget is expected to be signed off once a full programme of works is drawn up following the conclusion of the inspection.

Alex Hay, deputy leader of Newcastle City Council, concurred with the concerns about the bridge’s safety and the need for it to be fixed, asking council officers to keep the committee informed about the outcome of the survey.

Colin Swinney, Gateshead Council’s service director for highways and waste, said: “We are glad to be taking this programme of works forward. We try to ensure repairs and maintenance work is all scheduled to take place on the same day, to minimise the time we need to close vital infrastructure like the Redheugh Bridge. We avoid peak times as much as possible, depending upon the nature of the repairs and maintenance required.

“This is part of the comprehensive programme of inspections we have planned across the area. Over the coming months we will also be inspecting the A695 Scotswood Bridge, the A695 Blaydon Viaduct as well as the Gateshead Millennium Bridge and our programme also includes a further 12 inspections of other structures planned for 2026.”