Happy 50th Tyne Tunnel

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Glenn A
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Happy 50th Tyne Tunnel

Post by Glenn A »

This month marks the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the first Tyne Tunnel. It revolutionised road transport on Tyneside at the time, as it slashed journey times between North and South Tyneside, and the tunnel and its approach roads, particularly when the A194(M) and Jarrow by pass were completed two years later, became an eastern by pass for Newcastle. A huge project for Tyneside at the time and one which has been improved in recent years with a second tunnel.
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KeithW
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Re: Happy 50th Tyne Tunnel

Post by KeithW »

It has indeed been greatly improved not least by the dualling of the A19 and the building of the Hylton viaduct. There is still work to do to get the approaches on the southern side up to standard though, we still don't have a start date for the Downhill Lane and Testo's improvements. Still lets not be churlish , I recall the period when the only option was to slog through Gateshead and central Newcastle.
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Osthagen
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Re: Happy 50th Tyne Tunnel

Post by Osthagen »

The road tunnel may be 50 years old, but the pedestrian tunnel opened about 65 years ago.
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Glenn A
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Re: Happy 50th Tyne Tunnel

Post by Glenn A »

KeithW wrote:It has indeed been greatly improved not least by the dualling of the A19 and the building of the Hylton viaduct. There is still work to do to get the approaches on the southern side up to standard though, we still don't have a start date for the Downhill Lane and Testo's improvements. Still lets not be churlish , I recall the period when the only option was to slog through Gateshead and central Newcastle.
There is the ongoing work at the Silverlink roundabout and future work at Testos. Remember, these roads were built 50 years ago when traffic levels were two thirds lower than now, and were considered a huge improvement on the long slog through Newcastle pre CME. Also the Tyne Tunnel was part of a huge roads boom on Tyneside that saw the A194(M) and A1(M) opened, the Coast Rd completely rebuilt, the Gateshead Flyover, Jarrow by passed and the North West Radial Route opened in Newcastle.
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Burns
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Re: Happy 50th Tyne Tunnel

Post by Burns »

Does anyone else think the Tyne Tunnel looked a lot better before the refurb following the opening of the new bore a few years ago?
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Mark Hewitt
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Re: Happy 50th Tyne Tunnel

Post by Mark Hewitt »

Burns wrote:Does anyone else think the Tyne Tunnel looked a lot better before the refurb following the opening of the new bore a few years ago?
Looks way better now.
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Re: Happy 50th Tyne Tunnel

Post by Bryn666 »

The old tunnel looks very concretey and dark inside since the refurb but I don't know if it looked "better" before either. Ultimately it's a tunnel ;-)
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Burns
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Re: Happy 50th Tyne Tunnel

Post by Burns »

I just remember driving through the old tunnel and feeling disappointed that it was dingy and orange compared to the old black top with strip lighting and reflective panelling you get in most circular bores.
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Re: Happy 50th Tyne Tunnel

Post by M19 »

Before, it was like the Dartford tunnel.

Now it's like driving into a salt mine.

Backwards step, as with most road designs these days.
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Re: Happy 50th Tyne Tunnel

Post by Robert Kilcoyne »

I saw the Tyne Tunnel for the first time in 1974 when I was on holiday with my parents in Northumberland. Three memories come to mind; the virtual 360 degree turn at the northern portal (there was a roundabout on the then A108 southbound where traffic for the tunnel had to turn right), the roundabout with the A185 at the southern end of the tunnel and the tunnel approaches being lit by GEC Turtles, including a side entry variant of the Turtle mounted on the walls of the southern portal.
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Osthagen
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Re: Happy 50th Tyne Tunnel

Post by Osthagen »

Burns wrote:Does anyone else think the Tyne Tunnel looked a lot better before the refurb following the opening of the new bore a few years ago?
I'd say that it looks far better now.

After the refurbishment, it has become a whole lot safer, previously being one of Europe's worst tunnels in terms of safety according to an inspection of major European road tunnels in 2000 following a fire in the Mont Blanc Tunnel between France & Italy.

All in the Wikipedia article:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyne_Tunnel
"I see the face of a child. He lives in a great city. He is black. Or he is white. He is Mexican, Italian, Polish. None of that matters. What matters, he's an American child"
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Glenn A
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Re: Happy 50th Tyne Tunnel

Post by Glenn A »

McNessA720 wrote:
Burns wrote:Does anyone else think the Tyne Tunnel looked a lot better before the refurb following the opening of the new bore a few years ago?
I'd say that it looks far better now.

After the refurbishment, it has become a whole lot safer, previously being one of Europe's worst tunnels in terms of safety according to an inspection of major European road tunnels in 2000 following a fire in the Mont Blanc Tunnel between France & Italy.

All in the Wikipedia article:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyne_Tunnel
It started to look dingy and dirty by the eighties and you always felt better when you came out, as there was always this nagging fear of a breakdown or an accident.
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Re: Happy 50th Tyne Tunnel

Post by Berk »

They should call it the penny pinching tunnel. Money-grabbing :censored:!!

OK, you can use a card, but you have to call for a member of staff... :confused:
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Re: Happy 50th Tyne Tunnel

Post by djw1981 »

So people dislike online payment, and they also dislike baskets to chuck money into........
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Mark Hewitt
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Re: Happy 50th Tyne Tunnel

Post by Mark Hewitt »

djw1981 wrote:So people dislike online payment, and they also dislike baskets to chuck money into........
There should be options! I should be able to pay on the day online after going through like at Dartford. I should be able to pay by contactless CC. I should be able to pay by cash. It's bad enough that the toll exists in the first place never mind demanding that a particular payment type is used.
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Mark Hewitt
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Re: Happy 50th Tyne Tunnel

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Glenn A
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Re: Happy 50th Tyne Tunnel

Post by Glenn A »

There was also plan around the same time to build a bridge from North Shields to South Shields, which would have been 200 feet high in places. It was doable, but expensive and superfluous to the Tyne Tunnel.
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/hi ... r-10819235
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KeithW
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Re: Happy 50th Tyne Tunnel

Post by KeithW »

Glenn A wrote: Sat Mar 23, 2019 13:23 There was also plan around the same time to build a bridge from North Shields to South Shields, which would have been 200 feet high in places. It was doable, but expensive and superfluous to the Tyne Tunnel.
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/hi ... r-10819235
I can see how the bridge could be built but where are you going to put the approach roads ?
I dont see the B1344 or Baring Street being candidates.
Glenn A
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Re: Happy 50th Tyne Tunnel

Post by Glenn A »

KeithW wrote: Sat Mar 23, 2019 14:36
Glenn A wrote: Sat Mar 23, 2019 13:23 There was also plan around the same time to build a bridge from North Shields to South Shields, which would have been 200 feet high in places. It was doable, but expensive and superfluous to the Tyne Tunnel.
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/hi ... r-10819235
I can see how the bridge could be built but where are you going to put the approach roads ?
I dont see the B1344 or Baring Street being candidates.
It was something that was dreamt up in the mid sixties, but would have probably proven as expensive as the tunnel and would only have a fraction of the traffic as the A193( 695 then, of course) and B1344 aren't particularly busy in this area of the two towns.
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Mark Hewitt
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Re: Happy 50th Tyne Tunnel

Post by Mark Hewitt »

Has anyone used the ANPR at the Tyne Tunnel? I've signed up for it and put in my cars details, but there's something about it which makes me think it just isn't going to work - I'm still going to have change ready...
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