One of the biggest engineering feats of recent times in the North East last night beat off more than 60 rivals to carry off a top award.

The New Tyne Crossing won the Project of the Year accolade at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors North East Renaissance Awards.

The event at Newcastle Civic Centre, which celebrates the best initiatives in the land, property and construction sectors, was hosted by George Clarke, North East architect and presenter of TV’s The Restoration Man.

The £260m crossing, which took three years to construct, also won the infrastructure category.

Its objective was to remove congestion at the crossing point between Howdon and Jarrow by providing two additional traffic lanes through the construction of a new tunnel and the major refurbishment of the existing 1967 tunnel.

The chairman of the RICS North East Renaissance Awards judging panel, David Furniss, who is senior director at BNP Paribas Real Estate, Newcastle said: “The New Tyne Crossing is hugely deserving of both the infrastructure award and the Project of the Year title as it has been enormously beneficial and life changing for many people.

“Congestion has been successfully eradicated and journey times have reduced considerably. It has also helped improve connectivity within the region, giving us better access to markets for our businesses, while opening up new areas for economic activity.

Read more: Journal Live http://www.journallive.co.uk/north-east-news/todays-news/2013/04/20/project-of-the-year-accolade-for-the-new-tyne-crossing-61634-33205443/#ixzz2RD5d0Ciu