The road to nowhere...

The Northern Spire, the £118m new bridge over the River Wear has a 345 feet central tower and a span of 330 metres.  When I moved to the town of Sunderland in 1973 this new river crossing was a hot topic.  44 years later it's a reality.  

Less than satisfied locals (politically motivated perhaps?) call it Sunderland City Council's Vanity Project, 'the road to nowhere'; because at the moment  the infrastructure at either end of it is incomplete.  Actually it links Pallion with Castletown.

But residents and road users need not worry, the Council, (often advertised as the Caring Council) have set up the Sunderland Strategic Transport Corridor (SSTC) initiative, a multi-million pounds  scheme to improve transport links between the city centre and key employment sites.  

The bridge name was chosen by a public vote from three proposed.  Nice gesture but it boils my blood when I read that the approach road will be named after a local council leader.  In God's name, why?