Construction of the third and final section of the Grantham Southern Relief Road is set to start next month.
The final phase of the new road will link the A52 at Somerby Hill to the B1174, crossing the Witham Valley, River Witham and East Coast railway line via a new viaduct/bridge.
Lincolnshire County Council said work on the second phase, which will join the B1174 to the A1, is currently underway and expected to be complete later this year.
When opened, the whole road will stretch for 3.5km, linking the A52 at Somerby Hill to the A1. The road was originally priced at £81m but two years ago it was revealed that its cost had increased by 25% to £102m.
North-facing view of new five-span bridge over East Coast main line
The project is being led by Lincolnshire CC and supported by South Kesteven District Council, Greater Lincolnshire LEP, Highways England, the Department for Transport, Network Rail, Homes England and local businesses.
Richard Davies, Lincolnshire’s executive member for highways, said: ‘It's taken a lot of time and effort to get to this stage, but we'll soon be one step closer to cutting congestion and improving journey times in and around Grantham.
‘The most challenging part of phase three will be building the new bridge, which will not only span over the East Coast Main Line, but also the River Witham.
‘This tremendous piece of infrastructure, along with the remaining two roundabouts and length of road, will take two and a half years to build – meaning we expect to have the entire relief road open by the end of 2023.’
Galliford Try’s Midlands regional manager, Jamie Missenden, said: ‘We have been working collaboratively with the project team and have developed a robust deliverable programme.
‘The One Team approach has formed well and is currently focused on commencing the next phase of work as planned. We are looking forward to the challenge and extremely happy to be continuing our engagement with Lincolnshire County Council.’
South-west facing view of new A52 Somerby Roundabout
Pat Doody, chair of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP, said: ‘Having contributed over £28m of Single Local Growth Fund grant to this strategically important scheme for Greater Lincolnshire, we're pleased that this project is entering the final phase of works.’
