Spalding Western Relief Road’s new bridge set to be finished next month — but the structure will be shut as it doesn’t lead anywhere
The construction work on a new bridge is set to finish next month — although it won’t be open for motorists or pedestrians for some time.
The structure has been built over the railway line to meet the new Spalding Road roundabout in Pinchbeck as part of the Spalding Western Relief Road project.
Lincolnshire County Council has confirmed that workers are on track to complete the bridge, including its road and footpath, by the end of September.
It is part of the ‘northern section’ of an eventual bypass for the town — but two remaining sections are unfunded and are not yet planned. Money set aside for further parts of the scheme has already been removed and spent elsewhere in the county.
As a result, the bridge merely goes from the roundabout to the north of the Vernatt’s Drain and so will be closed off to traffic and pedestrians.
It will not come into operation until further sections are built — which not be until the 2030s — or until it is needed for the housing schemes set for land around the site.
While the majority of the project should come to a close in September, there could be some work after this to clear the construction site around the bridge.
The northern section of the relief road cost £48.6 million — with the entire road estimated to require £109.5 million in total.
Work on this section began in January 2022 and met with delays. The county council has said the southern section may not be started until 2030 — and there’s no estimated date for the middle to be built.
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