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Arup involved in £9m three-lane 'lifting' road bridge in Middlesbrough

The new road bridge with Anish Kapoor’s Temenos sculpture and the iconic Transporter Bridge in the background.

Arup and Balfour Beatty are working together on plans for a £9m “lifting” road bridge planned for Middlehaven Dock in Middlesbrough.

Their ambitious proposals, unveiled this week, will see a new three-lane road bridge along with other road improvements as part of the ongoing regeneration of the Middlehaven area. The bridge will boost development at Middlehaven Dock and will also provide access to the north of the Riverside Stadium, the home of Middlesbrough Football Club. 

As part of the development, a new road route will take motorists, cyclists and pedestrians from the nearby A66 across the dock and past Anish Kapoor’s Temenos sculpture, which is pictured in the image above. 

The new crossing will replace an existing footbridge installed after the removal of an earlier swing bridge by the Teesside Development Corporation. The proposals also replace previous plans for a £4.5m swing bridge at the site.

The plans were drawn up by Balfour Beatty and Arup and Middlesbrough Council say the bridge will create further opportunities for the regeneration of the dock as a marina and centre for water sports and leisure use. Such facilities already exist further upstream at the Tees Barrage in Stockton so this area of the River Tees looks set to become a mecca for water sports very soon.

Middlesbrough Council’s executive member for regeneration, Charlie Rooney, said: “Middlehaven is one of the region’s most important regeneration areas, so it’s vital that we invest in it to help Middlesbrough’s development as the city heart of the Tees Valley. This bridge and the associated highways and other improvements will help to unlock the area’s huge potential, and pave the way for further growth.”

Rooney also said that such schemes were essential if Middlesbrough was to attract inward investment and new businesses to the town. 

The plans for the new lift bridge will considered at a meeting of Middlesbrough Council’s planning committee on 9 September. If approved, designs will be finalised by the autumn and construction should take place between January and December 2017.

If you would like to contact Andy Walker about this, or any other story, please email awalker@infrastructure-intelligence.com.

Comments

I'm a bit late on this one but this is looking good! As a local I think its great that all these new investments on Teesside are coming to light. Any update with whether or not this has been approved? Thanks Danny http://middlesbrough.bubble-baller.co.uk