Major milestone for Northumberland Line at Newsham ahead of planned opening this summer

The long-awaited Northumberland Line will reach a major milestone this week.

The new road bridge over the line at Newsham is expected to open to traffic on Thursday evening. It comes ahead of the opening of the first three stations on the rail line, with the first passengers slated to travel before the end of the summer.

The bridge will carry the A1061 over the line, in a bid to reduce congestion. The South Newsham Road will be diverted over the bridge and the level crossing will close to traffic and pedestrians.

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Bus stops at Blagdon Drive on South Newsham Road will close and be replaced by new stops to the east of the eastern roundabout on the A1061 South Newsham Road.

Confirming the planned opening time, a spokesman for Northumberland County Council said: "We're expecting the new road bridge at Newsham to open to traffic in the early evening of Thursday 1st August.

"The opening of the bridge on the A1061 is a great milestone and means progression of the Northumberland Line can continue at pace ahead of the start of passenger services and the opening of the first three stations."

The station at Newsham is one of three set to open this summer, alongside Ashington and Seaton Delaval. However, no opening date for the line has yet been set, with the end of summer just over a month away.

The remaining stations at Bedlington, Blyth Bebside and Northumberland Park will not open until next year following a series of delays that included bad weather and the discovery of an unexploded bomb.

When completed, the project will connect South East Northumberland to Tyneside by rail for the first time since the 1960s. The route was closed as part of the now infamous Beeching cuts.