The £75M Highways England project in North Tyneside has lowered the A19 beneath an existing roundabout in an underpass, allowing free flow movement across the interchange for the first time. Over the top of the roundabout runs the Coast Road.

“It has been fascinating to see this junction take shape and now thousands of drivers will benefit from quicker, smoother journeys,” said Highways England project manager Julie Alexander. She added that it will improve safety and journey times while supporting economic growth in the area.

The scheme faced difficulty when one half of the construction joint venture delivering the works went into administration. Lagan collapsed last year and the project had to be completed by its partner John Sisk & Son, which was able to take on the former’s employees.

John Sisk & Son’s senior project manager James Keogh said: “We are very proud to have delivered the A19 /A1058 Coast Road junction improvement scheme on behalf of Highways England. It has been a very challenging project and will substantially reduce congestion in the area.”

In total the project, designed by WSP, has used 87,265t of stone, installed 55 concrete bridge beams weighing up to 76t and over 23m in length to support structures above the underpass, and the whole junction has been resurfaced. Two new pedestrian and cyclist bridges have also been created.

Commenting on the project’s completion, North Tyneside’s Mayor Norma Redfearn said: “The A19 is extremely important to the regional economy and this improvement will have a number of major benefits for residents and businesses in both North Tyneside and the wider area.

“The new junction will also help alleviate some long term traffic issues and vastly improve access to the Silverlink Retail Park and Cobalt Business Park, our largest employment site.”

Meanwhile an additional A19 junction upgrade is now under way to allow traffic to flow freely through South Tyneside, where the route is being raised above the existing Testo’s roundabout.

(Photograph: Highways England)