When part of the A1 will be closed as bridge is extended with six ten-tonne girders

Six ten-tonne girders will be added to the side of the bridge carrying the A1 over the Kingsway Roundabout at junction 67 (Coal House) near Gateshead over the next three weeks.

From tomorrow night, Wednesday, November 9 until Friday, November 25, either the northern or southern half of Kingsway Roundabout will be closed, depending where on the structure the team are working.

Half of the roundabout will close for the safe installation of the beams and some temporary works from 8pm to 6am.

The beams will enable a new third lane to be added to the dual carriageway as part of National Highways’ A1 Birtley to Coal House upgrade and will be lifted into place by a 200-tonne mobile crane positioned in the middle of the roundabout.

Following the installation, the construction of a new deck section will be added over the coming few months with details of this work set to be published in due course.

National Highways Project Manager Helen Burrow said: “Earlier this year we used high-pressure water to remove the concrete at the end of the existing bridge deck to expose the reinforcing steel which would enable the bridge deck to be extended. 

“We are now in a position to be able to begin lifting these girders into place and fix them to the existing bridge, giving us the foundations on which to add a new lane to the bridge.”