Drivers face weeks of misery on the A1; Vital repairs needed on road bridge.

Byline: Phil Doherty 

LONG tailbacks and speed enforcement cameras face motorists using one of the region's busiest roads when work begins on essential repairs to a bridge.

The motoring misery on the A1 western bypass between the Team Valley and the Angel of the North will begin on July 25 and last for 10 weeks while engineers strengthen the Allerdene Bridge. A contra-flow will be put in place on the northbound carriageway while the southbound carriageway will be closed along with three sliproads.

The hardstands for speed cameras are already in place and the cameras will be set up next week to enforce the average 40mph speed restriction on the road.

Jeremy Forsberg, spokesman for the Northumbria Safer Roads Initiative, said: "The cameras are being installed to protect motorists and their vehicles.

"There are also temporary barriers and lots of other road furniture such as signs and the speed restrictions will allow drivers more time to react to the road conditions.

"The cameras are the Specs version, which take a picture of the vehicle registration and then measures the time the vehicle travelled over the distance between the two camera sites.

"They are hard-standing cameras and the housing is being installed this week with the cameras being put place the week after."

More than 100,000 vehicles use the section of road each day. The work will be carried out around the clock, seven days a week, for 24 days. Once the bulk of repairs is finished there will be a further six weeks where further repairs will be carried out at night.

The repairs are being done to strength the bridge. The northbound slip road at Kingsway, Team Valley, will be closed. The southbound off and on sliproads at Eighton Lodge, near the Angel of the North, will also be shut.

This is the first time that Specs cameras have been used in the region at a road work site.

Mr Forsberg added: "The cameras will also help the flow of vehicles because if traffic is erratic and people go too fast this creates braking which affects other cars further back up the traffic line causing tailbacks. What we want to see is everyone keeping a safe distance and driving at the speed limit so the traffic can keep flowing.

"Hopefully we will not catch a single motorist with the cameras."

Up-the-minute travel information will be available by phoning the Highways Agency Information Line on 0845 7504030, or by visiting www.highways.gov.uk.Hopefully we will not catch a single motorist with the cameras