In Part 1, we saw how the idea of Newcastle becoming a multiple motorway city in the early 1970s began to fade. In this part we see what happened regarding roads in and around Newcastle in the second half of the 1970s from 1976 onwards.
1976
On 15 January 1976, Peter Morris was still reporting on concerns about road traffic on Tyneside stating that, “Tyne and Wear traffic engineers are starting work on detailed plans aimed at cutting down the number of heavy lorries using the A1 through central Tyneside”.
About a month later, on13 February it was announced that the new Redheugh Bridge would cost £8,250,000 and have two lanes in either direction and the following month on 23rMarch, the go-ahead was given for the new bridge.
However, the problems with the roads continued and the following day, 24 March, Morris noted that, “more major road works are to start next week in Newcastle city centre and motorists are warned: ‘Delays are expected’”.
A starting new development in the long-running saga of the Coast Road motorway came on 23 June, with the news that, “a road tunnel costing almost £10 million is the latest idea of Tyne Wear engineers and planners for the Coast Road Jesmond Road area of Newcastle. But shocked councillors have turned the suggestions down flat and told their officers to think again.” However, when the Coast Road was finally upgraded, about 15 years later, it did include a tunnel under part of the Cradlewell area.
There was more disappointment with central government expressed on 5 August 1976, with the news that, “demands for a top-level probe were made today after Whitehall swung the axe on the North’s road-building programme”. Then four days later, Evening Chronicle readers were told that a Newcastle MP was to be pressed to ask for a speedy building of Newcastle western by-pass to be built from Scotswood bridge to Ponteland Road
However, the following month, on 16 September 1976, it was reported that, “the government has scuttled hopes for a major Newcastle link bypass to be built in the West End in the near future. It means that peak-hour traffic snarl-ups in the Denton Road-Silver Lonnen areas are likely to go on for years.”
In the autumn of 1976, more problems were reported with the Tyne Tunnel, which had been opened in 1967. On 1 October it was noted that Tyne Tunnel debt was heading for the £25 million mark and that the choice between increasing tolls or putting up rates would have to be made. In a further update on 6 December, Morris reported that, “the Tyne Tunnel is heading for a loss of almost £1 million next year. By 1978 the debt on the tunnel is expected to be more than £17 million”.
At the end of the year, on 22 December 1976 it was reported that due to economic circumstances, road spending was to be slashed in 1977, leading to fears of job losses.
1977
However, the new year began with some good news, as on 15 February 1977, Morris wrote: “Newcastle western bypass, designed to ease traffic congestion in the western part of Newcastle and in Gateshead was approved today. It will probably open in about ten years and cost about £10 million”.
Perhaps that was why it was said on 22 April that the anti-road campaigner John Tyme had been asked to help a group of Newcastle residents fighting against a road plan – the Coast road motorway again. It was noted that the Minories Community Association in Jesmond were calling in a man who was said to have disrupted enquiries all over the country.
Another long-running saga came to an end on 30 August, with Morris telling Evening Chronicle readers that, “the bill for Newcastle’s Central Motorway East was finally settled today at more than £11 million”. However, despite the building of the motorway, however, it was reported on 2 November that a Newcastle councillor had warned that the city centre would grind to a halt when new traffic restrictions were introduced in 1978.
The year did end with two pieces of more positive road news. On 2 December 1977 came the news that work on the Newcastle City western bypass might start two years earlier than planned in 1984 instead of 1986, as a junior transport minister had agreed to bring the work forward two years. Two weeks later, on 16 December 1977 it was announced that Tyne and Wear council was to get a £40 million share of the government’s annual handout to counties to help pay for their transport needs.
1978/9
The pressing need for a new Redheugh bridge was underlined on 29 August 1978, when it was announced that buses and other heavy vehicles were to be banned from the old Redheugh Bridge.
Meanwhile, in November 1978, more road plans were announced as Morris told readers that, “plans for 46 small and medium-sized road schemes in the Tyne and Wear area have been revealed”. There were said to be another 60 roads of low priority, all to be “complete by 1991”.
Into 1979, it was said on 1 February 1979 that there were two possible routes for the Newcastle western bypass, with further news coming on 5 February 1979, when Morris reported that, “councillors today plumped for the shorter of two possible routes for a new road on the northwestern outskirts of Newcastle”. In the end Wideopen was bypassed by the A1.
Subsequently, on 13 June, it was reported that the plans for the new western bypass from Scotswood Bridge to A1 north of Gosforth were to go on display. Then on 20 July, it was reported that years of planning blight and uncertainty set to end with approval of Tyne Wear structure plan, with “major road schemes sorted”.
However, this was preceded by more news of inflation affecting road development, with the shock news on 6 July that the new Redheugh bridge expected to cost £18 million, Nine months later, on 14 March 1980 it was to be reported that the cost of the new Redheugh Bridge was going up again, this time to £20 million.
The 1980s
On 22 January 1980, it was announced that the troubled Scotswood Bridge might have to be closed down completely.
Four months later, on 17 May it was reported that Newcastle was to get another multi-storey car park at junction of Northumberland Road and John Dobson Street, which is still there to this day.
1980 seemed to bring a number of announcements of new roads. Firstly, on 23 May, it was said that local councils were pleased with the government commitment to £40 million for road construction. including Newcastle western bypass, but not for the Kenton-Ponteland A696 upgrade. The A696 would later be upgraded to dual carriageway from Kenton to the airport.
Then on 24 October, Morris reported that, “a new £4mn road along Newcastle Quayside is being considered. Plans have been drawn up for a 670-metre two lane road from the Tyne Bridge to Forth Banks, passing behind the Guildhall and beneath the Swing Bridge arch. The road would party be built in the river…” This scheme never materialised.
As the Metro was now up and running, so in 1982, on 20 December it was said that the green light had been given to two new roads in the new year, ending almost complete embargo on new roads so that Metro could be built with the building of the new Redheugh Bridge being the only exception.
A month later, on 27 January 1983, along with a map of the route, it was announced that details of the long-awaited Newcastle western bypass had been unveiled that day. It said that it was going to be a three-lane dual carriageway. In the end it was built as a two-lane dual carriageway, but after this was found to be inadequate for the volume of traffic, in the 2020s it was upgraded. Along with the rest of the A1 from the Angel of the North (apart from the bridge over the Tyne) to a three-lane dual carriageway, as envisaged back in 1983.
Comment
In the end, Newcastle’s road plans were scaled back to the extent that it became hard for local politicians to get the funding for much-needed roads such as the A1 Gosforth bypass. However, the city was saved from what would have been an expensive, environmental mistake, with so many motorways that it would have been hard to avoid one.
In the place of the motorway dream came the Metro dream. In parts three and four we shall see how that developed during the 1970s and 1980s.
