July 4, 2013 11.14 am This story is over 128 months old

Newark Road £1.9m improvement works begin in south Lincoln

Pinch point relief: Construction work on a £1.9 million road scheme to reduce congestion in the Newark Road area of Lincoln will begin on Monday, July 8, lasting up until November 22.
Illustration: LCC

Construction work on a £1.9 million road scheme to reduce congestion in the Newark Road area of Lincoln will begin on Monday, July 8, lasting up until November 22.

The works will see a number of changes introduced to the roads and footpaths in the Newark Road area, meant to reduce travel times for motorists by up to two minutes in an hour.

The junctions with Rookery Lane and Brant Road will be widened and improved, and a dedicated ‘turn left’ lane will be created on Newark Road to enable motorists to turn into Brant Road.

General maintenance of Newark Road and Brace Bridge will also take place and a new shared cycle and footway will be built along Newark Road and Brant Road too.

As previously reported, the entire carriageway will be reconstructed (instead of just resurfacing), as the current surface has reached the ‘end of product life.’

The scheme is funded by a £1.3 million contribution from the Department for Transport and £700,000 from Lincolnshire County Council.

During the first phase, which will take place between July 8 and September 20, a right-turn ban will be imposed on-and-off Brant Road and temporary traffic lights will be in place on Newark Road. Local diversion routes will be clearly signposted for the duration of the works.

There will also be changes to Stagecoach 13, 14, 44 and 44a bus services in the area, with full information available via the Stagecoach website.

Councillor Richard Davies, Executive Member for Highways and Transportation at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “The Newark Road junctions with Rookery Lane and Brant Road are often extremely congested, especially at rush hour, where you can be stuck in traffic for what seems like an eternity.

“These improvements will address a number of long-standing issues with the existing road layout to significantly reduce traffic jams in the area.

“There’s no getting away from the fact that the work will cause some disruption, but I am sure that local people will be pleased to hear that it’s going ahead.

“Not only will motorists benefit from reduced journey times, particularly travelling westbound out of the city centre, but pedestrians and cyclists will gain from improved facilities too.

“Investing in these schemes shows that both the council and the government are serious about creating jobs in Lincoln and accelerating growth where it is needed most.”