TV documentary features nighttime maintenance operation on A19 Tees Viaduct set to close this weekend

Repairs to the A19 Tees Crossing, used by thousands of people from Hartlepool and East Durham each week, have featured in the BBC One documentary Night Shift which tracks the stories of staff working while most of us sleep.

The episode features teams from Highways England and Autolink carrying out work on the viaduct filmed over three nights in December and January.

A spokesman for Highways England said the body was contacted last year by production company Matchlight to do some filming in the North East.

The Tees Viaduct with cameras tracking one of the Incident Support Units and maintenance work.

A look into bridge repairs, high friction surfacing and drain cleaning all featured.

Essential works on the 45-year-old flyover are continuing.

The next weekend closure is still planned for April 17 to 20 – with the northbound carriageway shut from Friday from 9pm to 6am on Monday.

Gridlock on the stretch after accidents and rush hour traffic sparked leaders to put in a bid to the Government for a new £400m Tees crossing last year.

A two-lane northern viaduct, an extra southbound lane and moves to widen the A66 between Teesside Park and the viaduct are all part of the masterplan for the A19 flyover.

The vision also includes work to alleviate rush hour crawls on Portrack Lane with a relief road to Newport Bridge.

But money for the scheme will have to come from the Department for Transport (DfT) if it’s to arrive in the next decade.

And it is unknown when this funding will now be confirmed given the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The episode of Night Shift is still available on the BBC iPlayer at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000h3n8/night-force-series-1-episode-3

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