Galliford Try : New roundabout leads in all sorts of directions 26 Sep 2016

New roundabout leads in all sorts of directions

Monday, 26 September 2016 @ 01:02

South Tyneside Council and Galliford Try are cutting journey times, alleviating flooding, facilitating community events and supporting the civil engineering industry at a junction improvement scheme at Jarrow.

The main focus of the £7.5m Lindisfarne scheme is the widening of both the Lindisfarne and John Reid Road roundabouts and the dual carriageway between them from two to three lanes in both directions. Two local approach roads are being similarly widened.

An early milestone in the work was the completion of a giant flood attenuation tank. With a capacity of 1,125 cubic metres and eight metres deep, the tank is located on King George's playing fields next to the Lindisfarne roundabout which links the A19 and A194. The tank has been incorporated in the scheme since the roundabout has had a history of flooding.

The works are the first part of a wider programme of strategic transport investment projects that will reduce congestion and the number of accidents, reinforce the economic potential of the A19 corridor, and establish a strategic gateway into South Tyneside. Routes for pedestrians and cyclists will also be improved.

Commuters travelling through the junction twice daily on weekdays will spend 26 hours less per year in the car or bus. Other road users with a particular eye on the clock were participants in the Great North Run which took place on 11 September. The Galliford Try site team ensured that the runners en route between Newcastle and South Shields on the A194 passed by the site safely and unhindered.

Galliford Try took the opportunity to promote the civil engineering industry by displaying the Institution of Civil Engineering's This is Engineering banners on the site perimeter. The company is also a gold sponsor of the ICE North East's Inspire campaign which aims to stimulate the interest of students in careers in civil engineering. A key element of the campaign is a competition for schools to design a poster to promote the industry.

'We'll be inviting students to have a look around the Lindisfarne site, giving them some ideas for designs and then sitting on the judging panel with the presentations at the ICE North East's annual dinner,' said Gino Salvatore, Galliford Try public liaision officer.

The scheme is due for completion next summer.