Spalding relief road northern section works to begin in January

The main construction for the northern section of the Spalding Western Relief Road will begin in January 2022 and take around a year and a half to complete.

The Spalding Western Relief Road will stretch for 6.5km, linking the A1175 and A16 to the south and east of Spalding to the B1356 to the north, via the B1172 Spalding Common.

The estimated whole scheme cost of £109.5 million is likely to increase if material and labour costs remain high as the south and middle sections are progressed in future years.

The project has already caused some controversy after the county council apologised back in 2019 to residents who were “left in limbo” over the future of their family homes.

Then, in January last year senior councillors saved nine Spalding homes from being demolished as part of the major new road.

When the main construction begins on Monday, January 10 next year, the works will mostly be taking place away from local roads.

From this date, Two Plank Bridge, its connecting footpath and the footpath on Wygate estate across the rail line will be closed for up to 18 months.

As part of the scheme, nearly 3,000 underground pile foundations will be installed to support the new bridge.

From autumn 2022, a combination of road closures and temporary traffic signals will be used as needed for a period of time, including on Enterprise Way and Spalding Road. More specific dates and details will be shared by Lincolnshire County Council once they have been finalised.

The works are expected to last until autumn 2023, subject to weather and any unforeseen circumstances.

Lincolnshire County Council and South Holland District Council have now been awarded just over £20 million from the government’s Housing Infrastructure. This is to pay for the Northern Spalding Sustainable Urban Extension and part of this section of the Spalding Western Relief Road.

The remaining forward-funding for the northern section will come from the county and district councils.

Detailed design of the road’s southern section, from Spalding Common to Holland Park, is currently underway and funding is still being finalised. However, funding is being pursued from a number of sources including Lincolnshire County Council, developers and central government.

This section will see a new roundabout at B1172 Littleworth Drove and a bridge spanning the Lincoln to Peterborough rail line built.

The route for the road’s middle section was agreed by the county council’s Executive in January last year. The selected option is known as Route Option 4, or the Trojan Wood route, and will cross Bourne Road where the Trojan Wood business is currently located.

Because the middle sections of the relief road are intended to be built in the long-term, no funding has been allocated or secured for them at this stage.

Councillor Richard Davies, executive member for highways, said: “Now that preparatory works are complete and all the land agreements are now finalised, we’re less than a month away from starting construction of the northern section of the new Spalding Western Relief Road.

“As part of the works, our contractor Eurovia will be building a new five-arm roundabout on the Spalding Road, a T-junction next to Vernatt’s Drain and a new bridge over the Lincoln to Peterborough rail line.”

Meanwhile, thousands of ancient artefacts, some of which date back as early as the Iron Age, were spotted along the route of the Spalding Western Relief Road during works earlier this year.