The Central Motorway northbound remains closed this evening following a fire in Newcastle city centre on Wednesday.
At around 6.44pm on Wednesday firefighters were called to a large fire at a disused building in Carliol Square. Although the fire was brought under control, the blaze is believed to have severely impacted the structural integrity of the building.
And the road has therefore been deemed as unsafe to open at this time. Northumbria Police said emergency service and local authority partners are working together to ensure the road can reopen as soon as is safely possible.
Read more: Newcastle city centre fire LIVE: Central Motorway remains closed 24 hours after blaze
The Central Motorway northbound carriageway is closed until further notice from the A186 Swan House Roundabout underpass and A193 New Bridge Street. Diversions are in place and people are encouraged to research their journeys ahead of travel.
In a social media statement, Northumbria Police said: "Following yesterday's fire at Carliol Square in the City Centre of Newcastle, the Central Motorway northbound will remain closed at this time. Our colleagues at @Tyne_Wear_FRS were able to successfully get the fire under control.
"However, it is believed the fire has severely impacted the structural integrity of the building, making it unsafe to open the road at present Emergency service and local authority partners are working together to ensure we can open the road as soon as is safely possible.
"Diversions are in place, and we encourage everyone to research their journeys – allowing extra time to get to your destination. Thank you to everyone for your ongoing patience and cooperation. We are continuing to work with partners to establish the cause of the fire."
Eight appliances and two Aerial Ladder Platform (ALP) vehicles were called to the scene of the fire on Wednesday evening to help bring the fire under control. Two fire engines remained on the scene this morning, in order "to ensure any embers don't reignite".
Today it was confirmed that there had been no reports of anyone being unaccounted for in the building, however, an investigation will be carried out to confirm this. Enquiries will also begin to establish the circumstances around the fire.
Anyone with information about the fire is encouraged to contact Northumbria Police on the 'Tell us Something' pages of their website, quoting reference number NP-20230628-1077.
A Newcastle City Council spokesperson said: “The fire service and the police are still at the scene of the fire which badly damaged a building in the Carliol Square area of the city last night.
"Once their investigations are completed our building control officers will assess the structure of the building to decide what action, if any, is required to make the building safe in the interest of public safety.
"The Northbound section of the central motorway will remain closed until we are confident the site poses no risk to the public.”
