24 May 2001
New Tyne Crossing decision on 31 May
The decision on what form the £100 million-plus New Tyne Crossing will take will be made by Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority (PTA) at its meeting on 31 May.
The Authority will decide on the method of construction and the number of lanes the new crossing will have.
Following next Thursday¹s decision work will begin on preparing the necessary legal procedures to enable the new crossing to be built. This will involve undertaking a major consultation exercise with local people and tunnel users over the next six months. A Public Inquiry into the new crossing is expected in the summer of 2002.
The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions is expected to rule on the results of the Public Inquiry in the summer of 2003.
The new crossing will be financed by a private sector consortium to be appointed following a tendering process which will begin in the autumn of 2002. The successful consortium will be awarded the concession to design and build the new crossing towards the end of 2003 and will immediately also take over the running of the existing vehicle tunnel, the pedestrian and cycle tunnels. The concession period will be approximately 30 years after which the tunnels will revert to the PTA.
The concessionaire will be responsible for setting tolls for the vehicle crossing, but they will have to be agreed by the PTA.
Work could begin on the new crossing in 2004 with completion expected in 2006.
Issued on behalf of Arup by Bradley O¹Mahoney Public Relations
Contact Richard Simpson or Clare Maxwell on (0191) 281 8833
24 May 2001
Background information
Whatever form it takes, the New Tyne Crossing will be constructed to the east of the existing vehicle tunnel between Howdon and Jarrow.
It will complete the dualling of the A19 between its junction with the A1 at Seaton Burn in North Tyneside and the A168/A1 in North Yorkshire.
The existing tunnel was designed for 24,000 vehicles per day and now carries 35,000. It suffers serious congestion at peak times.
Tyne & Wear Passenger Transport Authority, with North Tyneside Council and South Tyneside MBC, has commissioned a consortium of advisers led by consultants Arup to look in detail at the issues surrounding the construction of a New Tyne Crossing.
The crossing will be designed, built, financed and operated by a consortium of private sector companies following a tendering process.
The new crossing will:
Who's who
Tyne & Wear Passenger Transport Authority (PTA) oversees public transport issues in Tyne & Wear and has responsibility for the Tyne Tunnels and the Tyne ferry.
The PTA appointed a consortium of advisers, led by consultant Arup, on 8 November 1999 to review the findings of an earlier feasibility report on the New Tyne Crossing and to advise on the engineering, environmental, financial, legal and property matters relating to the new crossing.
The consortium includes specialist engineers Posford Duvivier, legal advisers Herbert Smith and Dickenson Dees, financial consultants KPMG and Newcastle-based chartered surveyors Lamb & Edge.
The concessionaire will be the consortium which successfully tenders to design, build, finance the new crossing and operate all the tunnels. The concessionaire will take responsibility for the operation of the tunnels once appointed for a period of up to 30 years.
Facts and figures