Member Article

New tyne crossing provides economic advantages

Businesses have started to reap the economic benefits of the new £260m development that has eased traffic crossing over the river Tyne.

Research from Newcastle University showed that over half of the businesses interviewed had experienced financial advantages from the completion of the Tyne Crossing, and more than 70% said the tunnel had reduced transport costs.

The new crossing reached completion a year ago on Wednesday to ease congestion for commuters and vehicle users crossing the Tyne.

The Tyne & Wear Integrated Transport Authority commissioned the report from Newcastle University’s Centre for Urbans and Regional Development Studies to mark the one year anniversary of the crossing along with Tyne Crossing partners North and South Tyneside’s Councils.

Nearly 71% of businesses thought reduced travel time to work had improved employee morale, punctuality and productivity, while 68.2% said travel time reliability had a positive impact on their company.

Paul Moore, a staff member at Greggs in Longbenton, commented: “Being located at Balliol, Longbenton we are conveniently located for the Tyne Tunnel and since the opening of the second tunnel, we now have six vehicles per day using it instead of one.

“The absence of the queues during rush hour means that we can now put more produce on each lorry and service more shops per journey.”

Councillor David Wood, chairman of the Transport Authority, added: “The single vehicle tunnel used to be the fourth worst traffic congestion blackspot in the UK and a major barrier to business and economic development along the A19 corridor in Tyne & Wear.

“We always believed that a second tunnel was vital to the economic prosperity of the area. This report justifies our confidence and shows there have been immediate benefits to local businesses.

“We know that the New Tyne Crossing has had a significant, even transformational, impact on the lives of commuters.

“As the economy picks up, I am confident that the benefits of the New Tyne Crossing will continue to multiply.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Miranda Dobson .