Operator Nexus has been inspecting an historic railway bridge on the Tyne and Wear Metro in preparation for track replacement work.

The specialist inspections are assisting with putting together plans to modernise the eighty-foot-high Howdon viaduct in North Tyneside.

Engineers wearing harnesses used ropes to scale the structure to conduct an inspection of its wrought iron arches.

The viaduct was designed by architects John and Benjamin Green and built in the 1830s, and has carried Metro trains for over forty years.

Nexus has ordered the renewal of the track that runs across the 320-metre viaduct, which spans the Willington Gut, providing a link between east Newcastle with North Tyneside.

Following the inspections – carried out on behalf of Nexus by SPAN Engineering – the operator can now examine the best options for replacing the track on the Grade II listed viaduct.

Head of Renewals at Nexus, Sarah McManus, said: “Howdon viaduct is one of the most important and iconic structures on the Metro network, carrying scores of Metro trains each and every day.

“We’ve been conducting these at height inspections so that we can explore how we’re going to renew the tracks that run across the viaduct over the next few years, which will represent a major investment in Metro infrastructure.

“The work has involved specially trained civil engineers climbing up on to the super structure to assess the condition of the wrought iron. This will be fed into a detailed planning process as we look at the best options for a track replacement project.

“It’s the type of work that requires the inspectors to have a real head for heights. The team that we brought in did an amazing job despite working in some terrible weather conditions. They have experience of working on railway bridges all over the country, most notably the iconic Forth Bridge in Scotland.”