The Tyne Bridge shuts to traffic 8pm to 6am on weeknights until 1 December, and Regent Centre Metro closes at 9pm Monday to Thursday. Coast trains run normally.

Getting around Whitley Bay runs on a short list of roads. The A1058 Coast Road into Newcastle, the A191 through Hillheads and Whitley Road, the A193 along the seafront towards Blyth, and the A19 with the Tyne Tunnel for anything south of the river.

This page tracks what is dug up, closed or changed on them right now. It also carries the evergreen facts that stay useful in between: the tunnel toll, station parking and park and ride. Every item comes from the public record, linked as we go.

Now: the Tyne Bridge shuts to traffic on weeknights until 1 December

The bridge restoration has moved from its ten-day full closure to overnight closures on weeknights, from 3 November to 1 December, 8pm to 6am. The one late start still to come is Friday 27 November, when the closure begins at 10pm instead (Tyne Bridge travel advice).

  • People walking and cycling can still use the bridge during the weekday closures, Newcastle City Council says.
  • The council hopes the full four weeks will not be needed and the work will finish “well ahead of the festive period”, but says it is weather dependent. It gave no earlier end date.
  • The council also said closures would be pushed back to 11pm for football crowds and large events such as the Christmas lights switch-on, which is on Thursday 12 November from 6pm. The bridge’s travel advice lists only the 5 and 27 November late starts, so we could not confirm a later start that night.
  • A 4.95m (16ft 3in) vehicle height limit is being introduced. It is aimed at larger European lorries, and double-decker buses are not affected (Newcastle City Council). While the work goes on, the project site gives temporary limits of 18 tonnes, 4.5m high and 3.3m wide (tynebridge.org).
  • Lombard Street stays one-way northbound until spring 2027.

From the coast, the A19 and the Tyne Tunnel are the obvious alternative late at night. TT2 listed no tunnel closures for November when we checked on 11 November.

Metro: Regent Centre shuts at 9pm, Monday to Thursday

  • Regent Centre closes at 9pm, Monday to Thursday nights, until 17 December. Trains pass through without stopping, and replacement bus 901 links Regent Centre and South Gosforth. The same pattern returns from 4 to 28 January 2027 (Travel North East).
  • West Jesmond subway is closed for stair repairs and a full refurbishment; cross by the station footbridge. Nexus expects it to reopen at the beginning of January, while Travel North East says late January (Nexus).
  • The coast is clear. Travel North East lists no disruption at Whitley Bay, Monkseaton, Cullercoats, Tynemouth, North Shields, Wallsend or Shiremoor. Trains have run normally between Wallsend and Tynemouth since Nexus finished the North Shields bridge repair early, on 3 November (Nexus). Our story on that closure has the background.

A19: no North Tyneside closures listed, one night south of the tunnel

National Highways’ closure data, checked on 11 November for dates up to 23 November, lists no A19 closures in North Tyneside. The nearest is overnight survey work south of the river on Monday 16 November, 8pm to 6am: a southbound lane closure between the Tyne Tunnel and Boldon, with the slip roads at Boldon shut in both directions and the southbound entry slip from the A185 at Jarrow closed (National Highways road closure report). Check the report on the day before driving late, as closures are added at short notice.

Council roadworks: last confirmed on 3 November

North Tyneside Council’s statutory notices page refused our checks on 11 November, so we could not confirm that the orders below are unchanged. They were made orders when we last read them, on 3 November. Work only happens when the diversion signs go up, so trust the signs on the road.

  • Hartley Lane, Whitley Bay, from Monday 16 November: to close from the A192 junction to the Brier Dene Farm footpath entrance, in sections, for ducting and chambers in the road and verge. The order runs to 31 December, but the council expected the work to finish by 30 November. Access to the Beehive pub was to be kept open, with a signed diversion via Earsdon Road, Monkseaton Drive, The Links, Westley Avenue, Gerrard Road and Blyth Road (council statutory notice).
  • Back lanes in the same order: in North Shields, Donkin Terrace Lane from 10 November (up to eight days, electrical work), Appleby Street Lane on 15 November (one day) and Stanley Street, from Borough Road North to number 8, from 16 November (up to six days, patching). In Benton, Front Street Lane behind The Ship on 16 November (one day). In Wallsend, Diamond Street Lane from 30 November (five days).
  • Resurfacing order to 30 November: Percy Park Road and Allendale Place in Tynemouth, Bedford Terrace, Bedford Street, Church Way and Howard Street in North Shields, and Hawkey’s Lane in Preston (council statutory notice).
  • Melrose Avenue, Backworth: footpath shut to 13 November for gas mains work (council statutory notice).
  • Georgian Court, West Moor: surrounding footpaths closed to 15 January 2027 for Northern Gas Networks to replace gas mains (same order as Hartley Lane).
  • Coast Road slip roads: the overnight tree-cutting closures listed in the order have all passed. The notice also named the Silverlink westbound exit and eastbound entry for 16 November, outside the order’s own dates; that night remains unconfirmed (council statutory notice).
  • Howard Street, North Shields: new double yellow lines between Saville Street and Northumberland Square under an 18-month experimental order in force since 20 October. Objections go to democraticsupport@northtyneside.gov.uk within six months (council statutory notice).

Coming up in late November and December

These are council orders too, last read on 3 November.

  • Claremont Crescent, Whitley Bay: closed from the Lynfield junction to the Kittiwake car park entrance, 3pm to 6pm on Wednesday 25 November, for a street event (council statutory notice).
  • North Shields Christmas Market: Northumberland Place and Northumberland Square, from Church Way to Upper Norfolk Street, close to all vehicles from 6am on Wednesday 2 December to 5pm on Monday 7 December. Howard Street at its junction with Upper Norfolk Street and Saville Street closes for the same period, and Upper Camden Street on 2 and 7 December. The diversion is via Church Way, Albion Road, Upper Norfolk Street and Norfolk Street (council statutory notice).
  • St Georges Crescent, Whitley Bay: closed between numbers 5 and 23 from 2pm to 4pm on Sunday 13 December for a play street, under an order covering the second Sunday of most months until October 2027 (council notice).

Other changes to know about

  • The beach path from Whitley Bay mini golf stays shut. The council extended the order to 7 April 2027, or until the work is finished, citing unsafe access (council statutory notice).
  • New double yellow lines came into force on 21 September on part of North Parade, Whitley Bay, and at the Broadway and Links Avenue junction in Cullercoats (council statutory notice).
  • Murton Gap: Persimmon’s 2,700-home application has been re-advertised with a moved northern junction on the A186 near Earsdon. See our story.
  • St Mary’s Island causeway: the council has applied to replace it, with the crossing closed while the work is done in summer 2027. See our story on the plans.

Parking and speed proposals still awaiting a decision

The council’s variation orders published on 27 August took objections until 16 September (council statutory notice). No made order had appeared on the statutory notices page when we last could read it, on 3 November. The local proposals:

  • Cullercoats: all of St Oswin’s Avenue would join the CC2 resident permit zone, with 2-hour limited waiting on stretches of the street.
  • Wallsend: David Street, John Street and part of Town Square would join the WD3 permit zone.
  • Benton: the 40mph section of the A191 Whitley Road would shrink, with the rest of Whitley Road dropping to 30mph.

A separate notice proposes new crossings, including a zebra on Ennerdale Road, Cullercoats, 8 metres south of Farringdon Road (council statutory notice).

The Tyne Tunnel: what it costs and how to pay

The toll for a car, van or bus under 3.5 tonnes is £2.60. There are no barriers, and you have until midnight the day after you drive through to pay, online, on the app, by automated phone line (0191 574 0030) or in cash at a PayPoint shop (TT2). Forgetting is what generates the penalty letters, so regulars should open a pre-paid account, which also takes 10% off every crossing.

Station parking and park and ride

Driving to the Metro is often the fastest hybrid commute, and on the coast the parking is free (Whitley Bay, Monkseaton, Shiremoor station pages):

  • Whitley Bay: 76 free spaces off Station Square at Victoria Terrace, plus four accessible bays by the taxi rank and 16 cycle-pod spaces.
  • Monkseaton: 22 free spaces off Norham Road, with 20 cycle-pod spaces.
  • Shiremoor: 19 free spaces off Park Lane, one of them accessible, with 8 cycle-pod spaces.
  • Northumberland Park is the nearest big paid park and ride: £1.80 a day, chargeable 6am to 5pm Monday to Saturday, free after 5pm and all day Sunday, with £24 four-week and £295 annual permits. Only the ground floor, about 25 bays, is currently open (Metro car parking).
Where to park for the Metro Car park spaces at coast-area stations, November 2026 Whitley Bay (free) 76 Nthmb Park (£1.80/day) ~25 open Monkseaton (free) 22 Shiremoor (free) 19 Source: Travel North East station and car-parking pages, November 2026. Chart by Whitley Bay News.
Chart by Whitley Bay News

What it means for you

  • Driving into Newcastle late on a weeknight? The Tyne Bridge is shut to traffic from 8pm (10pm on 27 November) to 6am, Monday to Friday nights, until 1 December.
  • Commuting by Metro from Whitley Bay? The coast loop runs normally both ways. Late on Monday to Thursday, trains via Benton run through Regent Centre without stopping after 9pm.
  • Heading south through the Tyne Tunnel late on 16 November? Expect a lane closure towards Boldon and closed slip roads at Boldon and Jarrow.
  • Using Hartley Lane? It was due to close in sections from 16 November; we could not reconfirm the council’s order today, so watch for the signs.
  • Tyne Tunnel users: £2.60, pay by midnight the following day, and a pre-paid account saves 10%.
  • For a day out rather than a commute, the Metro connects the whole coast. Our things to do page is built around it.

Closures and dates change at short notice. The council’s statutory notices page carries its traffic orders as they are made, and National Highways’ closure report and Travel North East’s updates page are the live sources on the day.

Sources

Last updated 11 November 2026. Works move section by section under signage, so treat the lists above as the framework and the signs on the road as the timetable.