Lincoln’s £120m Eastern Bypass finally opened on Saturday.
The single carriageway 4.6 mile (7.5km) road has been a project that lasted eight years.
It starts at a new roundabout on the A15 Sleaford Road and finishes at the A158 Wragby Road.
The final project cost upwards of £120 million to finish, with £50 million coming from central government funding.
Another £37 million has come from Lincolnshire County Council, and a further £34 million was pledged from third-party developers.
It is hoped that this will become the next step towards an entire ring road surrounding Lincoln, with the Eastern bypass connecting with the existing northern relief road.
Four new roundabouts and eight new bridges were built in the project, with over 154,000 tonnes of road building material used.
More than 300 new trees and 10,000 smaller shrubs and plants have been planted to try and lessen the road’s impact on local ecology.
During the process, 250,000 ancient artefacts have been uncovered and 2.2 million tonnes of soil and earth have been moved.
Plans for a so called ‘Eastern Bypass’ in Lincoln have been discussed for generations, first being drawn up in 1951.
Since then, plans have chopped and changed numerous times, but the final result has at last been delivered.
Among the delays was primary contractor Carillion liquidating in 2018, as well as the coronavirus pandemic, among other factors, causing the completion date to be pushed back from spring 2020 to December.
General finishing touches will be added to the bypass even beyond the opening date, including laying the final sections of tarmac, installing road signs and fencing.
This work is not expected to cause a delay to road users, but will last a couple of months.
Lincolnshire County Councillor in charge of transport, Richard Davies. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Speaking of his excitement regarding the opening of the bypass, councillor Richard Davies, executive member for highways at LCC, said: “This is, without a doubt, one of Lincoln’s most anticipated infrastructure projects in decades.
“Getting this scheme built has been no easy task. In fact, since starting construction, nearly 1.4 million hours have been spent building the new bypass, along with over 150,000 tonnes of tarmac and other road building materials.”
Very pleased to be at the opening of the main part of the Eastern Bypass today – I fought for this since before becoming an MP the first time around, was told by many it would never happen, so thrilled that’s it’s finally been built and is ready for use! https://t.co/bSDoEfqWd3
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Exciting news for MyLocal app users and The Lincolnite readers! Our latest update is now available to download from your app store and comes packed with the best local news experience you can enjoy.
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