Lincolnshire County Council can move ahead with the construction of the £218m North Hykeham relief road following the approval of the legal orders by transport secretary Heidi Alexander.

Forming the final section of the ring road around Lincoln, the new relief road will consist of a dual carriageway linking the A46 Pennells roundabout to the Lincoln eastern bypass.

With construction expected to take up to three years, the new road will also feature three new roundabouts at South Hykeham Road, Brant Road and Grantham Road, as well as ‘a number of bridges'.

Cllr Michael Cheyne, executive member for highways, said: ‘This is fantastic news for the North Hykeham Relief Road project and the people of Lincolnshire, since it means we're one step closer to starting construction early next year as planned. 

‘Now that we've been given the all clear by Government to move forward, the next step is to officially appoint a contractor. This will be a topic of discussion at our Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee meeting in December, and then voted on by Executive in early January.'

The scheme has been in development for two decades, with the first preferred route proposed by the council in October 2005. Since then it has undergone numerous changes and a public inquiry, which have seen the project's costs rise - most recently from between £180m and £208m, to the current estimate of between £203m and £218m.

This £10m increase is reportedly due to ‘a number of changes to the scope of the project':

  • The presence of rare barbastelle bats in the area has necessitated the construction of a fully grassed-over bridge near the South Hykeham section of the relief to accommodate the bats' flight path. In addition, a bat tunnel at Somerton Gate Lane and a number of bat ‘hop-overs' have been added to the scheme.
  • Anglian Water has increased its fee for the diversion of its underground water and drainage infrastructure by £3.5m.
  • The Sleaford Road roundabout section of the Lincoln eastern bypass is now to be dualled for 90 metres to make it easier for traffic to merge after the roundabout.

Other changes that have increased the price tag of the road include an acoustic barrier and test piles, Environment Agency requirements relating to the temporary haul bridge over the River Witham, drainage compliance requirements and additional National Highways requirements relating to the A46 Hykeham Roundabout.

Balfour Beatty was the company chosen by the council to undertake construction of the relief road in April 2022, when it was appointed to a pre-construction services agreement. However, the company's appointment is yet to be ratified.