Tyne Pedestrian & Cycle Tunnel
The idea of these
tunnels was to bring together North and South Tyneside with a pedestrian
and cycle tunnel to run under the river.
It connects the communities
of Jarrow and Howdon
and is 900ft long.
Work on the tunnel was about to start in 1939 but the Second World War
put a stop to it and work finally began in 1947.
Charles Brand & Son Ltd completed tunnelling in 1949 but it was not opened until 24 July 1951.
Whilst digging the tunnel they had to deal with the old Jarrow and Howdon colliey mine workings which crossed their path.
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The
longest single escalator in Europe was installed to take pedestrians
from beneath the Tyne 85ft up to the surface.
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long
way down 175ft
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The tunnel is made up of lined cast iron segments. The pedestrian tunnel is 10ft 6" in diameter and the cycle tunnel is 12-ft in diameter.
The entrance of the north tunnel is now built on top of the house that Robert Stephenson was born in.