Final backing expected for North Hykeham relief road to become dual carriageway and complete ring road around city

Lincolnshire County Council’s executive will discuss the project next week and have been recommended to approve the plan.

They are also expected to back a move to bid for £104 million worth of funding from the Department for Transport.

It would mean that the county council would foot around £34 million of the cost with £10 million being paid by a developer.

The road would join the ongoing Lincoln Eastern Bypass and the A46 in the west – completing the city’s ring road.

Councillors on the authority’s Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee previously described the scheme as a “no brainer”.

Executive portfolio holder for highways Coun Richard Davies called the ‘ambitious and expensive project’ a way of improving A46 connectivity from the Midlands all the way through to the Humber ports.

He said: “We wanted the Lincoln Eastern Bypass to be dual carriageway because it makes no sense that when you’re building major infrastructure like this you shouldn’t always aim to make a dual carriageway.

“The Government previously prevented us from building one on the Lincoln Eastern Bypass for financial reasons and while I won’t necessarily agree, I understand that.

“For the price of a stretch of dual carriageway in one location you can build two bits of road in two other locations, I get that, however it’s this British approach we have to infrastructure that’s remarkably short-sighted.

“That’s very frustrating and that’s why we are trying again to build a dual carriageway – whether the Government will let us remains to be seen.”

Senior councillors on the authority’s executive will meet to discuss the plan on October 2.