Play your part in naming Sunderland's New Wear Crossing

The Echo and Sunderland City Council are offering the people of Wearside the chance to play a part in naming our magnificent new bridge.

In the coming weeks, the people of Sunderland will be able to play a role in deciding what the New Wear Crossing should be called when it opens in the spring.

We will be revealing a shortlist of possible names and members of the public will be asked to vote for their favourite.

The list of names will be agreed by an independent panel, comprising of members of the Sunderland community and business fraternity, before being exclusively rolled out in The Sunderland Echo.

Just keep an eye out for the shortlist to be revealed here in the next few weeks, as well as on Twitter and Facebook.

It is hoped the new name will reflect the city’s history and reputation as an enterprising and innovative place, whilst also making a statement about the city’s ambitions and aspirations for the future.

And with the bridge designed and built to last at least 120 years, its new name must also be able to stand the test of time.

City council leader Coun Paul Watson said: “We are nearing completion of Sunderland’s amazing new bridge, so it’s the right time for us to start thinking seriously about what it should be called.

“Choosing a name is not an easy task, so we have waited until now to begin the process because we felt it was important that people could actually see the bridge almost complete, with the impressive pylon in place, before they were asked to vote.

“Now we are in the final stages of construction, we can begin to appreciate its size and significance on the skyline, and the impact it will have on the city.

“We believe this is more than just a bridge to get across the river – it will bring investment into Sunderland, will lead to regeneration, will help to create jobs and will instil a new sense of pride in people.

“It belongs to the people of Sunderland, so we hope everyone gets behind it and helps us to decide on its new name.”

The new bridge and road improvement programme is phase two of the Sunderland Strategic

Transport Corridor, which is a five-phase plan to improve links between the A19 and Sunderland City Centre and the Port of Sunderland.

The new bridge will help reduce congestion around the city, speed up journey time for motorists and will enable a huge area of land along the south side of the River Wear to be regenerated and developed.

For more information about the naming of the new bridge, watch out for updates in The Sunderland Echo.

To find out more about its construction, go to www.sunderland.gov.uk/new-bridge