A competition was held by Gateshead Council in 1996 to design a new bridge to link Gateshead to Newcastle, the first opening bridge to be built on the River Tyne in over 100 years. The bridge would form part of the regeneration on both sides of the River Tyne, providing a crossing between new commercial buildings and housing built in Newcastle and cultural and leisure developments in Gateshead. It would also facilitate a 1-mile (1.6 km) circular promenade around the Quayside. Although river-based traffic had decreased by the 21st century, the cities of Gateshead and Newcastle still intended to retain the image of the River Tyne as a working river. The advert for the competition was published in the New Civil Engineer magazine with the brief "We are looking for design teams who can create a stunning, but practical, river level crossing which fits this historic setting, opens for shipping and is good enough to win Millennium Commission funding.