October 12, 2021 11.09 am This story is over 29 months old

Lincolnshire council gets £50k to develop case for A17 dual carriageway

Aiming to reduce congestion on the busy road
The A17 at Heckington. | Photo: Google Street View
By Local Democracy Reporter

The A17 corridor at Heckington could soon become a dual carriageway, after Lincolnshire County Council were awarded up to £50,000 to develop a case for improvements to the road.

The funding was awarded by Midlands Connect, who gave up to £50,000 to six local authorities to develop the case for investment in their respective local roads.

The cash injection will allow for Lincolnshire County Council to assess the feasibility of adding an extra lane on the A17 corridor near Heckington.

If taken forward, the dualling scheme at the A17 will cost between £20-50 million, though the cost range will narrow as the project is developed further.

The A17 is mostly single carriageway, and is a key connecting route for Newark in Nottinghamshire and King’s Lynn in Norfolk. The 62 mile road stretches through Lincolnshire areas such as Sleaford and Holbeach.

The six schemes are supported by the Major Road Network, which forms a middle tier of the country’s busiest and most economically-important ‘A’ roads.

The support offered to these schemes will aim to reduce congestion, support housing and employment growth, as well as providing better links to motorways and major trunk roads.

The A17 dualling has been a discussion that has been ongoing for years, with a petition launched back in 2016 to convert four Lincolnshire roads, including the A17, into a dual carriageway to ease congestion in the county.

Lincolnshire County Council’s response at that time was that it could not afford to dual these roads and had to be “realistic” about what it can deliver, but this funding could now pave the way for progress five years after the petition was launched.

Councillor Richard Davies, executive member for highways at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “This is fantastic news for Lincolnshire since it means we can start developing a strategic outline business case looking at dualling the A17 near Heckington, which would provide a new overtaking opportunity, improve journey times and safety, and help future-proof the A17 as more and more vehicles use it over the coming years.

“Developing schemes like this will hopefully help Lincolnshire, and the rest of the Midlands, secure a bigger share of roads funding in the years to come.”