Lincolnshire County Council come under fire in song which labels Spalding Western Relief Road project a ‘marvel of design and despair’

A new song has poked fun at highway bosses — labelling a £50million unused bridge a ‘marvel of design and despair’ and ‘monument to local lunacy’.

The cheeky track was released today (Tuesday, March 25) by ‘Crazy Padraig’ on streaming platform SoundCloud.

Named the ‘Bridge to Nowhere’, the song has been written about the Spalding Western Relief Road – which was a controversial construction project that started in 2022.

Although the northern section has been completed, Lincolnshire County Council announced previously that there are no plans to start the southern route until 2030 at the earliest due to a lack of funding — so the bridge will not be used for some time by motorists.

It is estimated that the whole project will cost £109.5 million. However, this is likely to increase if material and labour costs are still high during future developments.

Critics had previously labelled the bridge as a ‘white elephant’ and the ‘biggest cul-de-sac in Europe’ – with many residents questioning if it will ever be fully complete.

The song writer - who released the track under the pseudonym ‘Crazy Padraig’ — has expressed their frustration towards the project.

Some of the lyrics in the track include – ‘50 million quid just to get nowhere’, ‘pigeons love it and grass grows free – a monument to local lunacy’ and ‘taxes climbed while common sense declined’.

The description of the song on SoundCloud states it was created to ‘highlight the insanity of a £50 million bridge in Spalding, which leads to a field with no immediate plans or funding available to connect to new roadways.’

It describes the situation as ‘Yes Prime Minister meets with Father Ted on steroids’.

As part of the Spalding bypass project, the replacement for Two Plank Bridge – which connects Spalding and Pinchbeck – was installed at the end of last year.

However, contractors were set to return to replace the surfacing, due to damage caused by wet weather.

The Spalding Western Relief Road project also included a five arm roundabout, which offers access to a future housing development – where work has now started.

What do you think of the song? Let us know in the comments below…