Brand new Lincoln Eastern Bypass needs closures in May to fix the road

Cracks have started to appear in the road surface of the new £120 million Lincoln Eastern Bypass some six months after officially opening, and Lincolnshire County Council will have to close parts of it to fix it.

The final road closures along the main Lincoln Eastern Bypass carriageway will be carried out for two weeks in May for repairs to be carried out.

The works will begin from Monday, May 10 under night-time road closures from 8pm to 6am. The first phase of works will be from Wragby Road roundabout to Washingborough Road roundabout.

The road starts at a new roundabout on the A15 Sleaford Road and finishes at the A158 Wragby Road. The single carriageway 4.6 mile road has been a £120 million project that lasted eight years and it finally opened on Saturday, December 19 last year.

Karen Cassar, Assistant Director for Highways at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “Since opening the new bypass last December, we’ve noticed a few small sections of road that aren’t quite up to the standards we expect.

“Quality issues like these sometimes come up after laying final road surfacing in the cold, winter months, so we knew there was some risk when we opened the road last December.

“As part of our contract with them, Galliford Try will be carrying out some final repairs next month, including minor resurfacing, kerbing, fence installation and white lining along the new road.”

She added: “Despite some minor delays due to the snow and wet weather we had earlier this year, Galliford Try has been hard at work completing landscaping, top-soiling and works to the new cycle paths/footways – which will all be complete ahead of Galliford Try clearing off site early this summer.”

The works will be carried out in the following three phases:

Phase 1 – Wragby Road roundabout to Washingborough Road roundabout

Five evenings of night-time road closures starting on Monday, May 10.

• There will be no southbound access to the bypass from Wragby Road roundabout and Hawthorn Road East (Cherry Willingham leg)
• No access to Greetwell Road roundabout and the bypass from either side of Greetwell Road
• No northbound access to bypass from Washingborough Road roundabout
• No accèss for pedestrians, cyclists and horses during closures

The diversion route for those using Greetwell Road to access Cherry Willingham and Fiskerton: Greetwell Road to B1308 Outer Circle Road to A1434 Wragby Road to A1434 Bunkers Hill to A158 Wragby Road East to Kennel Lane to Hawthorn Road to Croft Lane to Ancaster Close to Church Lane to Fiskerton Road to Greetwell Road, and vice versa

The diversion route for those using Lincoln Eastern Bypass: A1434 from Bunkers Hill south to South Park-Canwick Hill junction / B1188 to Washingborough Road junction / turn left onto the B1190 Washingborough Road/head east rejoin Lincoln Eastern Bypass at the new Washingborough Road Roundabout, and vice versa for traffic heading north.

Phase 2 – Washingborough Road roundabout to A15 Sleaford Road roundabout

Five evenings of night-time road closures, starting on Monday, May 17.

• There will be no southbound access to the bypass from Washingborough Road roundabout
• No access to Lincoln Road roundabout and the bypass from either side of Lincoln Road
• No northbound access to bypass from A15 Sleaford Road roundabout
• No access for pedestrians, cyclists and horses during closures

The diversion route for those using B1188 Lincoln Road to access Branston: B1188 to B1178 to Sleaford Road / London Road / Cross O’Cliffe Hill / St Catherines / South Park Ave to B1188 Canwick Road / Canwick Hill, and vice versa.

The diversion route for those using Lincoln Eastern Bypass: south on the A607 through Bracebridge and onto South Park/turn right at the Canwick Junction onto the B1188 Canwick Hill /turn left onto the B1190 Washingborough Road/head east and rejoin the Lincoln Eastern Bypass at the new Washingborough Road Roundabout, and vice versa for traffic heading south.

Phase 3 – Heighington Road

Dates are still being finalised for phase three and will be released once confirmed.