For the last three years, one of the major issues on roads within the North East has been the roadworks at the Silverlink roundabout.
However, that should change as the end is nigh for the works, as the new section of the A19 is open for business.
The initial reactions to the new road have been positive with motorists saying that they are finding the new road better for getting to and from both the Silverlink retail park.
Nicola Wilson, 22, of Wallsend, said: “It is so much better than I remember it being before the work started. The problem with the previous road was that it could not handle large amounts of traffic. Now I think the only issue will be getting used to the new way of negotiating the road to get to the Silverlink.”
When approached about the new section of the A19, Highways England declined to comment on any ongoing work on the road. The question remains however as to when the work will be completely finished. In particular the 1058 coast road that is still limited to a 30 mile per hour speed limit. The road above the A19 still looks as though there is a lot of work to be done.
Mandy Hope, 47, of North Shields, said: “The Coast Road is a nightmare at the moment the road surface is poor and the build-up of traffic at rush hour is massive. That coupled with the average speed check which only covers a small portion of the road means that you have people slowing for the camera, then accelerating rapidly toward the traffic joining. It’s lucky that there has not been an accident.”
The highways agency expects the work to be done by summer 2019, but for now, users of both the A19 and the Coast Road will have to deal with the ongoing works.