LincsOnline reveals building the Spalding Western Relief Road ‘bridge to nowhere’ was £2 million over budget

The costs of building a controversial new bridge - which is unlikely to be used by traffic for a decade - can now be revealed.

LincsOnline has learned that the ‘bridge to nowhere’, which is part of the mothballed Spalding Western Relief Road, went over budget by nearly £2million.

A Freedom of Information request submitted to Lincolnshire County Council by this website has learned that the actual cost of the building the bridge was £7,948,556 — £1,966,207 more than the estimated cost before the project began. The council is also earmarking a maximum pot of nearly £10,000 a year for maintenance of the bridge and the gated access.

Work finished on the northern section of the relief road last year — with highways bosses unable to find external funding for the southern and middle sections, which are expected to cost £50million to £60million. The council has just earmarked £27.7million earmarked for the future of the road - so this project is unlikely to progress for some time.

The 6.5km relief road project is due to link Pinchbeck and Spalding Common with the aim of diverting traffic away from the congested Spalding, which is often clogged up as a result of the freight traffic on the town’s railway line.

Questions have now been raised about whether the bridge could have been built at a cheaper cost. The county council had previously confirmed that the height of the bridge had been raised in order to accommodate future electrification of this Peterborough to Lincoln line - but we were told by Network Rail last year that there are no plans to do that.

Spalding Road resident George Scott said “I’m not surprised by the cost - but it is not good for anyone.

“It could have been built cheaper as they didn’t have to build it so high as Network Rail are not going to electrify the line.

“What is the point of building the northern section of the road as they have not got the money for all of it? They have built it and spent millions before they found out if they could afford it.

“The only thing people can see happening is houses built on the side of a road going nowhere.”

Spalding Western Relief Road has sparked some controversy since the initial public consultations were held in 2011 as fears were raised over the route and the impact on homes.

More than a decade later, work started to construct the northern section in January 2022 - which included the bridge and a new five arm roundabout on Spalding Road.

Highways bosses state on their website that the cost of delivering the project was estimated to be £109.5 million, with the warning that labour and materials costs could rise.

This also states that the estimated cost of the northern section was £48.6 million with funding coming from Housing Infrastructure Fund (£20.1million), the county council (£27.5million) and South Holland District Council (£1million).

LCC had initially estimated that the bridge would cost £5,982,349 before the project began but says the labour and materials ended up being more expensive due to the war in Ukraine.

The council stated in a response to our questions: “Labour and materials costs increased following the start of the war in Ukraine, which led to the cost of the bridge increasing. The additional £2million was funded by a portion of the extra £8million allocated to the project by Homes England in 2022.”

Our Freedom of Information request also revealed that the council is budgeting £5,750 a year to cover the costs of maintaining the bridge.

But officers say that they are not expecting to spend anything in the first six years and are hoping to build up a pot of cash to cover future work.

The authority is expecting to undertake principle bridge inspections every six years.

It is also setting aside £5,300 a year to maintain the access gate, which includes quarterly site visits and any repairs required due to vandalism.

The site has already been subjected to some vandalism with graffiti on the bridge along with trees being snapped.

Karen Cassar, assistant director for highways, said: “In the approved 2025/26 council budget, there is currently £27.7m earmarked towards building the southern section of the Spalding Western Relief Road in the future.

“However, the current estimated cost of building this section is between £50-60 million, which means external funding will be needed. That is why we are continuing to work closely with South Holland District Council to identify funding opportunities, including remaining in touch with Homes England.”