Work to demolish the former Allerdene Bridge on the A1 near Gateshead is due to begin with some disturbance expected in the immediate area.  

The old bridge, built almost 40 years ago, carried traffic over the east coast mainline railway and was replaced by the new Allerdene Bridge which was first opened to vehicles in September 2023.

National Highways has carried out a series of improvements along the A1 between junction 65 (Birtley) and 67 (Coal House) including increasing the number of lanes on the northbound carriageway from two to three and southbound carriageway from three to four.

The next step of the Birtley to Coal House scheme is to demolish the old Allerdene Bridge with work starting tomorrow (Saturday, 19 October).

Helen Burrow, National Highways Project Manager, said: “From this weekend, we will be carrying out work every Saturday night from midnight to around 7am Sunday mornings and this will continue until Spring 2025. There will also be seven periods of 24-hour working.

“The old Allerdene Bridge crosses Network Rail’s east coast mainline and we are working closely with them to make sure this work is carried out safely and with as little disruption as possible.”

Demolition work can only take place at night when trains are not running. It will start after the last train on Saturday night and finish before the first train on Sunday morning.

The work has been planned carefully and must be completed in a particular way for safety.

Helen added: “This work will be noisy and may cause some disturbance in the immediate area. This will also be the case over Christmas Day and Boxing Day when we will be carrying out 24-hour work.

“This work will be even louder than the previous weeks as we will be starting to demolish the central bridge structure.”

After Christmas, National Highways will continue the demolition every Saturday night and plan a further six weekends of 24-hour working.

The dates of these are below.

Demolition dates

Saturday night only (approximately midnight Saturday – 8am Sunday)

  • Saturday 19 October, then every Saturday until Saturday 21 December
  • Saturday 4 January, then every Saturday until Saturday 1 February

24-hour working

  • Midnight Wednesday 25 December – 6am Friday 27 December
  • Midnight Saturday 8 February – 6am Monday 10 February 2025
  • Midnight Saturday 15 February – 6am Monday 17 February 2025
  • Midnight Saturday 22 February – 6am Monday 24 February 2025
  • 10pm Friday 28 February – 6am Monday 3 March 2025
  • 10pm Friday 7 March – 6am Monday 10 March 2025
  • 10pm Friday 14 March – 6am Monday 17 March 2025

Get more content including the stories that matter to your community from The Northern Echo for just £5 for 5 month for a limited time only here.

Public information events National Highways will be holding a public information drop-in session at Ravensworth Golf Club on Wednesday 4 December, from 3pm to 8pm.

Those interested or living in the area are encouraged to attend the session to find out more about the demolition and speak to the project team.

For further information about the project visit https://nationalhighways.co.uk/our-roads/yorkshire-and-north-east/a1-birtley-to-coal-house/