Councillors in Lincolnshire vote for change to £200m Balfour Link Road Project

Councillors are urged to approve changes to a £200M link road project awarded to Balfour Beatty well over a year ago.

An internal report to the executive of Lincolnshire County Council recommended approval of a new route for the long-proposed North Hykeham Relief Road.

Also known as the Lincoln Southern Bypass, this project would complete a ring road around the city as well as forming part of a coastal highway.

The route was first identified more than 16 years ago, with a design and build contract awarded to Balfour through the Scape framework in April 2022. Three rounds of public exhibitions have been held since and the latest designs show an 8km dual carriageway linking the A46 and the A15.

The report said the preferred route should be changed to reflect the passage of time since it was adopted in 2006; the built environment which has since developed and other constraints which are now better understood; and the significant planning and design work, including public engagement, which has been undertaken as part of the development of the NHRR scheme. By changing the preferred route to that described in this Report, the council’s policy position will support the proposed planning application.

Councillors will discuss the merits of the proposals, and decide whether a planning application can be submitted, at meetings later in the year.

Lincolnshire County Council executive member for highways Richard Davies said: “The report being shared with the committee offers a thorough overview of this massive infrastructure project and how it’s evolved since March 2022 – when we appointed Balfour Beatty as scheme contractor.

“Since that time, plans have been optimised and refined following input from our talented team of experts, as well as from those it will affect most – local people.

“We’ve held three sets of public information events since appointing Balfour Beatty, during which we’ve listened carefully to people’s views and concerns before tweaking the road’s design to reflect what we’ve learnt.

“As the report outlines, the current proposed plan is to submit a planning application this October with a view to starting construction by the end of 2025.”