Council submits new bridge design for Lincoln Eastern Bypass

Lincolnshire County Council has submitted a new design for the cycle and footpath bridge over the Lincoln Eastern Bypass after the original plans were rejected by the Department for Transport following a public enquiry.

The plans, which are now with the council’s planning department, explain in detail the Hawthorn Road bridge for pedestrians, cyclists and equestrians, spanning over the upcoming Lincoln Eastern Bypass.

The bridge will link the two sides of Hawthorn Road, which will not allow traffic over the bridge on the western side of the bypass.

On the east side, a junction will allow vehicles access to and from the bypass.

The revised design for the Hawthorne road bridge. Photo: LCC

As previously reported, the council gave local parish councils in villages affected by the changes to Hawthorn Road say over which new design they most preferred.

The parish councils were able to feed into the new bridge design.

The plans will replace the original submission of the Hawthorn Road cycle and footpath bridge over the £96m Eastern Bypass project – after rejection following a judicial review.

Originally, the County Council planned for Hawthorn Road to continue over the bypass on a bridge, but would only be accessible for cyclists and pedestrians.

Residents in villages east of the bypass plans raised concerns about the bridge plans, stating the bridge would block motorists’ access to Lincoln.

The outstanding concern from Department for Transport however was not the plan itself, but the safety of cyclists using the replacement bridge proposed, due to the distance and visibility of the cycleway where it joins Hawthorn Road.

The updated bridge plans are available for the public to view on the council website. It will go before the Planning Committee on October 6.