This 2.7 mile road scheme by-passed the villages of Wide Open and Seaton Burn. It was completed in 1969. The final structure on the diversion is Fisher Lane Bridge at the A1 and A19 junction. The route line had been laid down and protected from development in 1939 following the passing of the Trunk Road Act of 1936. The diversion now links the Newcastle Western By-pass to the dual carriageway section of the A1 between Shotton Edge and Stannington Bridge. The scheme was designed by John Miller. It was built by Higgs and Hill Civil Engineering Ltd. Alderman Sydney Pickup opened the road. In 1995 Blagdon Bridge, designed by David Laux, was opened to remove a junction accident spot.

The Newcastle Western Bypass was listed in the Department of Transport's 'Policy for Roads, England 1980' to link the A69 to the A1(M) to the south. The County Council proposed an extension of the bypass to the north. The bypass was opened and the Blaydon Bridge was named by Her Majesty the Queen in December 1990. The scheme was awarded to Bullen and Partners. The route was first suggested in 1936 and a corridor was reserved in the development plan for the area in 1945. Housing was built on either side of the corridor. The preferred route was announced in 1981 that linked the Great North Road near Gosforth to Scotswood Bridge. Scotswood Bridge was not in good condition and so Blaydon Bridge was built. The bypass is 11km long. It reduced traffic using the Tyne Bridge and removed much traffic from the City centre. It was designed to carry 50,000 vehicles per day. It is dual carriageway with a third lane between interchanges from Scotswood Road to Ponteland Road. Ten footbridges and subways were built to separate traffic and pedestrians. 1200 homes were noise insulated. Earth bunds and concrete screening walls, trees and shrubs reduce traffic noise. 66 houses were demolished to make way for the road. Where the road crosses the line of Hadrian's Wall, stone setts and a plaque were provided to mark the line of the Wall. The scheme cost some £88 million. The scheme was divided into five contracts. Contract 1 - Etal Lane to North Brunton. Balfour Beatty Construction Ltd. Started in August 1987. Opened to traffic in March 1990 by Robert Atkins MP, Minister for Roads and Traffic. Contract 1A - Fawdon Railway Bridge. Built by Cementation Projects Ltd. The bridge carried the new road over the Metro line at Fawdon. Contract 2 - Blaydon Bridge and Blaydon haughs Viaduct. Built by Edmund Nuttall Ltd. Commenced in November 1987. Blaydon Bridge is a five-span pre-stressed concrete structure. It was built using the balanced cantilever technique. It spans 108m over the River Tyne. The sandstone rock below the riverbed was found not to be strong enough to bear the weight of the southern main pier so mini-piles had to be drilled inside a cofferdam to strengthen the pier foundation. Blaydon Haughs Viaduct is a 17-span steel viaduct carrying the bypass over A695 Chainbridge Road and the Newcastle-Carlisle Railway. It is 530m long and the deck incorporates 2,100 tonnes of steelwork supported on 3,500 tonnes of steel H-piles. Contract 3 - Derwenthaugh to Etal Lane. Balfour Beatty Construction Ltd. Commenced in June 1988. This section includes 7 road bridges, 8 footbridges, 8 subways and over 3km of retaining walls. Old coal mine workings were found. Shallow seams were excavated and filled with compacted soil. Deeper workings were injected with cement and pulverised fuel ash grout. One mineshafts were filled and capped with reinforced concrete. Contract 4 - Birse Construction Ltd. A 1km long section of road at Derwenthaugh where 8m high embankments were constructed over deep deposits of soft alluvial silts and clays. Commenced February 1987. Water was drained from the clay through vertical sand drains. 24,000 sand drains were installed (total length of 210km) on a grid layout. Once the ground was stabilised, the road could be built. The work took until August 1987.

A start was made on the Newcastle Central Motorway East in 1972 as a trial Urban Motorway from the north side of the central area eastwards to the Tyne Bridge. This section opened to traffic in 1975 and became part of the Great North Road A6157(M). This was later renumbered as A167(M). The rest of the scheme was abandoned until the late 1980s.

£1.6m contract to improve a section of the A1 to dual carriageway. Now designated A194(M). The work was undertaken by Brimms & Co. Ltd from April 1968 to March 1970. The work included the construction of the Havannah Interchange with the B1288, the Follingsby Interchange and the A195 Peareth Hall overbridge. The scheme was designed by the Durham County Council Sub-Unit of the NERCU (North East Road Construction Unit).

£5million managed office development. Opened in May 2005. By Ryder architects. Bold and imaginative. The brief was for a building which would act as a symbol of transformation in South Tyneside, a purpose-built managed office building offering 44 offices with support and facilities for start-up and small businesses. The design is a pair of linked cubes, each containing four floors, on a free-form plinth containing a reception, café, information area and meeting spaces. The building had to be sustainable and so it has been built with recyclable low embodied energy materials, including cedar timber cladding, slate and maple. It has energy-conserving heating and lighting systems. Fittings are stainless steel and glass. The complex received an RIBA Award in 2007 and a South Tyneside Good Design Award in 2006.

A purpose built eco centre, built in 1996. It incorporates up-to-date sustainable construction methods for the offices and also provides adequate quality tenancies for local start-up businesses, along with support of local jobs, job creation and social enterprise. Developed by Groundwork South Tyneside, all materials were recycled from sustainable sources, including re-used bricks from a demolished factory, an aluminium roof re-smelted from old drink cans, wood from farmed forests and woollen carpets. Electricity is generated by a wind turbine and photovoltaic display. This award-winning project has become an exemplar of sustainability.

Victoria House was Martin’s Bank, before being taken over by Barclays in the late 1960s. At this time the premises were shared by a finance and loan company called Battman & Co. The building now serves the community as a funeral home. Brick with ashlar detail.

Opened January 1872, following the 1870 Elementary Education Act, which set the framework for schooling of all children aged 5 to 12 in England and Wales.

Ryder and Yates, whose architecture can be found in a diverse range of buildings, designed the Tyne Tunnel ventilation shaft. Their designs responding to the particular character of the area in which they are built. The materials used are also indigenous to the location. The inspiration for the shape of the ventilation shaft was the conical chimney pots of Venice.
The Tyne Tunnel is a two-lane toll vehicular tunnel under the River Tyne. Completed in 1967, it connects the town of Jarrow on the south bank of the river with North Shields and Howdon on the north. The tunnels are vital parts of the Tyne and Wear road network. A second vehicle tunnel was recently completed.

On 22nd July 1863 Mrs Jane Palmer laid the foundation stone for the Jarrow Mechanic's Institute. On 29th August 1864 Jarrow Mechanics Institute was opened to the public. In the afternoon there was a grand demonstration and procession of the trade’s union’s friendly societies and other bodies of workmen connected with the town when they marched through the principal streets to the Quay Corner and back to the institute in Ellison Street when it was Declared open by C M Palmer Esq., who presided over the proceedings. Amongst the company present were Sir Walter James Bart, Sir Hedworth Williamson Bart. MP, Robert Gingham MP Rev. W.P. Philip rector, Addison Potter Esq., Rev. T. White (the first secretary) Mr John Mclntyre, Mr T. C. Marshall and a large number of ladies and gentlemen.
The uncovering of a Marble bust of the chairman, which had been executed by the sculptor Wyon and presented to the institute by Mrs Palmer, has a most interesting event on the programme. Master George Palmer performed the ceremony and the removal of the covering disclosed an excellent likeness of Mr Palmer. On 17th October 1877 the foundation stone of the new South wing of the Mechanics Institute was laid this day by C. M. Palmer MP.
The building’s distinctive clock was a gift from Lady Northbourne, who also gave the Grade II Listed Christ Church to the people of Jarrow.
Once boasting an extensive library and reading rooms, again donated by Palmer, the Mechanic’s Institute went on to become the town’s most popular dance hall.
The building later became known as Jarrow Civic Hall.
Planning permission for a mixed use development was approved in May 2011.