Legal challenge will delay New Tyne Crossing: The construction of the £185 million New Tyne Crossing today (Thurs) faces further delay following a legal challenge to the Secretary of State's decision of 21 July. Full story is here.

A copy of the Inspector's Report to the Secretary of State for Transport is available by clicking here.

The October 2005 edition of Update is here.

The Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority are proposing that a New Tyne Crossing will be built next to the existing Tyne (vehicle) Tunnel between East Howdon and Jarrow. It will make the A19 dual carriageway all the way from its junction with the A1 in Northumberland to North Yorkshire.

The A19 is a very important road in the North East of England because it links the conurbations of Tyneside, Wearside and Teesside. At the moment, the existing vehicle tunnel is a bottleneck and suffers serious congestion at peak times. This has a knock-on effect on other crossings of the Tyne as motorists find ways of avoiding the congestion at the Tyne Tunnel. A Public Inquiry into the New Tyne Crossing was held in 2003.

The New Tyne Crossing will be the largest construction project in the UK over the next five years. It will cost £185 million (at today's prices) to build. It will be constructed using Immersed Tube technology.

A consortium of private sector companies will pay for, design, and build the New Tyne Crossing and operate all the tunnels, including the pedestrian and cycle tunnels. It is hoped the New Tyne Crossing will be open in 2009. There is a model of the New Tyne Crossing at the Tyne Tunnel Offices next to the toll plaza near the north portal of the vehicle tunnel.