About the project

The Gateway is about North Bridge Street and Dame Dorothy Street becoming two-way for all traffic and improving access in and out of the city centre.

The City Council's Cabinet backed the gateway's works programme at its January meeting after the council secured an extra £3.36m of funding for the scheme through the National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF). This allowed the council to revise the budget and propose extra features including more highway resurfacing and new paving throughout the North Bridge Street area.

Works have been programmed in stages and will take a break for July's Tall Ships Event and the Sunderland International Airshow.

The scheme includes:

• New signalised junction at the Church Street North/Dame Dorothy Street junction, with new pedestrian crossing facilities
• Road widening on Dame Dorothy Street for two-way traffic. This will also include the construction of a new retaining wall within the grass verge
• New road layout at the North Bridge Street/Dame Dorothy Street junction to allow a right turn onto Dame Dorothy Street
• Amendments to the Wheatsheaf junction to allow all vehicles to travel southbound on North Bridge Street
• Changes to the road markings over the Wearmouth Bridge and southern bridgehead roundabout

Key benefits include:

• A more direct route to the city centre
• Reduction of more than 60 per cent in travelling distance from the Wheatsheaf Junction to Wearmouth Bridge
• Reduction of more than 40 per cent in travelling distance from the Wearmouth Bridge to A183 towards Roker
• Reduced traffic using Roker Avenue and Church Street North
• Improved traffic flow through traffic signals at the Wheatsheaf Junction
• Minimal impact on public transport journeys
• Improved access for local residents and businesses onto North Bridge Street

The scheme is part of the City Council's ongoing commitment to improve and invest in Sunderland's road network. Work is nearing completion on Northern Spire - the new bridge between Castletown and Pallion - and further works are planned for the Sunderland Strategic Transport Corridor (SSTC).

The remaining phases of the SSTC will improve links from the A19 to the Port of Sunderland and will open up further development opportunities on the south side of the River Wear.