Northern section of relief road is not due to be finished until next …
Construction work on the north section of the Spading Western Relief Road is unlikely to be finished until next summer after the project has been beset by delays.
Lincolnshire County Council was expecting to finish building the northern section of the road in the autumn but says this has been set-back - with a range of issues including train strikes blamed.
Engineers began the task of building the road, which runs from Spalding Road along the Vernatts Drain away from the new roundabout, in January last year.
Construction work of this phase of the project also saw the removal of the wooden Two Plank Bridge, which was a well-used pedestrian link between Pinchbeck and Spalding.
Executive member for highways Coun Richard Davies said: “Despite opening the new Spalding Road roundabout last November as planned, we’ve encountered some unexpected issues with the remaining north section works that mean these won’t be complete until summer 2024.
“A combination of rail strikes, supply chain issues, material availability and weather impacts are responsible for the expected delay.
“Unfortunately, this will mean that Two Plank Bridge will remain closed for longer than expected, but it’s important to note that we don’t expect any more traffic disruption since all of the remaining works we need to carry out will be taking place away from any roads.”
During this phase of the construction, a new five arm roundabout has been installed in Spalding Road and engineers have been building the road over the two sides of the railway line.
The challenges posed by ‘fenland soils’ has resulted in the team having to pile drive more than 16,000 metal poles into the ground and laying concrete and steel cages.
Coun Davies said: “The focus is now on building the abutments and piers to support the new relief road bridge now that we’ve finished installing the ninety piles. Once the abutments and piers are complete, the next step will be lifting the beams into place and constructing the bridge deck by placing supporting steel bracing, permanent formwork and a concrete deck.
“And after that, the new foot/cycleway and carriageway will be built on the deck.”
This is not the first delay for the project. Construction had been pushed back from summer 2021 to the beginning of 2022 while the council got land deals in place.
The northern section is due to run from the roundabout to the Vernatt’s Drain, with a middle leg to take it over the water and the southern end to connect to Spalding Common and form a bypass of the town.
The first consultation work began back in July 2011.