A MAJOR investment in replacing a railway bridge which provides a key traffic link, has been announced by council chiefs.

Work is due to start on an improved road bridge over the railway line at Green Lane, South Shields.

South Tyneside Council recently secured funding towards the £1.5m project after concerns had been raised about the old bridge.

The existing structure, owned by Railtrack, is subject to a 7.5 tonne weight restriction, which officials say is limiting the size of buses and goods vehicles using the road.

A council spokesman said it had been decided that the best solution would be the demolition of the old bridge and the building of a new one on a different alignment.

Design work on the replacement was completed in June and it is likely to be completed by next April.

Green Lane will be closed for eight weeks during demolition and a temporary bus service will link both sides.

The Northern Echo has campaigned vigorously over the past year to secure urgently-needed improvements to scores of crumbling road crash barriers throughout the region.

Our campaign began ten weeks after the Selby rail disaster, when we found that the majority of approaches to road-over-rail bridges in the North-East and North Yorkshire have inadequate protection for motorists.