Extra £24.5 million for Grantham Southern Relief Road to be debated

An extra £24.5 million to pay for the Grantham Southern Relief Road will be discussed next week.

Lincolnshire County Council’s Highways and Transport Committee will discuss additional funding for the relief road bridge and the North Hykeham Relief Road at a meeting on Monday as part of this year’s budget.

Due to issues with construction of the eastern embankment for the Grantham Southern Relief Road bridge, the bridge will need to be lengthened by approximately 70m to avoid poor ground conditions, resulting in an 18-month delay and a significant increase in costs, leading to a proposed budget allocation increase of £24.5m.

The North Hykeham Relief Road is also facing cost pressures due to material and labour inflation, with construction not expected to start until 2025.

However, despite needing an extra £35.9m the council has stated that the cost range of between £179 million and £212 million provided in 2022 remains the best estimate for the total scheme cost and that the latest financial issues have not exceeded that.

The council has stated that the projects are crucial for the region’s infrastructure, and they will work to secure the necessary funding to continue the development of these projects.

Consultation is currently ongoing into the county council’s budget, which could see it use up to £10.3million of reserves if it doesn’t increase its tax precept by the maximum 5% allowed.

The executive is due to make its final budget proposals on February 7 before they go to full council for approval.