£4.5m Boston road improvements ‘won’t help town centre congestion’

Improvements to a Boston road costing around £4.5 million will help access to a town industrial estate, but will not improve traffic further down the line, councillors have been told.

Lincolnshire County Council’s Highways and Transport Committee on Monday approved the two “Levelling Up” projects including the creation of an additional northbound lane on the Marsh Lane roundabout in order to create a dedicated right-turn from the A16.

The aim is to reduce congestion and improve access to the industrial estate and port area for all vehicles as well as future-proof the A16 so it can be widened to incorporate a dual carriageway if funding becomes available.

The Boston Active Travel plan will create a three-quarter mile active travel route, with changes including new shared footways and cycleways along London Road, the A16, Marsh Lane and Wyberton Low Road.

It is hoped the works will reduce conflicts between cycle users and HGVs.

Specific start dates and traffic management details for the works have not been confirmed. However, a combination of lane closures, reduced speed limits, temporary traffic signals and road closures would be used as needed during both sets of works.

Councillor Alsion Austin said she was “happy” with the proposals, but said people did not realise “it’s not meant to do anything to relieve the traffic chaos or the traffic queing at Liquorpond Street.

“You know it isn’t, I know it isn’t but people don’t read all the details do that? It should be advertised more publicly as being solely to improve access to Marsh Lane.”

How the scheme would look. | Image: LCC

She added that she hoped for another entrance at the other end of Marsh Lane at some point in the future.

Lincolnshire County Council’s Sam Edwards said Councillor Austin was “absolutely right”.

“We’ve been very clear on the website, on the bid and when it came to scrutiny previously, this is about improving the flows of HGVs from the south of the county along the A16 and into Marsh Lane Industrial Estate.”

He said this did not mean there weren’t issues elsewhere in the town.

Councillors were mainly pleased with the scheme but also raised some comments about disruption to local businesses and the  safety of school routes.

The Marsh Lane roundabout improvements are expected to cost £3.78 million, with the Boston Active Travel works expected to cost just over £750,000.

Both projects will be funded by the £20 million in ‘Levelling Up’ funding awarded to the county council in October 2021.