Have your say on £130m bypass project

People are being invited to have their say on Lincoln's £130m eastern bypass project.

As reported in the Echo, Lincolnshire County Council has chosen route Z – from the A158 Wragby Road to the A15 Sleaford Road, east of Bracebridge Heath.

The new road would also have junctions with Greetwell Road, B11990 Washingborough and B118 to Branston.

Planning permission for this route – slightly further east than the two other options – is to be sought in late spring.

It is envisaged that work may begin in late summer 2013 and take three years to complete.

And space will be created for up to 10,000 new homes, likely to be near Bracebridge Heath and Canwick.

The estimated cost is based on current prices and is expected to be met by a combination of developer contributions and Government and county council funding.

In October 2008 the Echo reported that rising engineering costs had pushed the price up to £116m compared to £60m just three years earlier.

The new £130m price-tag includes £14m to build a baby bypass between the A158 junction on Wragby Road to Greetwell Road, which would eventually form the inside lanes of the northern section of the eastern bypass. The link would enable around 1,500 homes to be built on land near Greetwell Quarry, in the so-called 'north-east quadrant'.

The eventual plan is to link the eastern and the southern bypasses to the existing relief road.

Businessman and motorist Edwin White, 62, of Montaigne Crescent, Glebe Park, Lincoln, said he felt the existing bypass was a victim of its own success.

"You can put extra capacity in by building new roads but before long extra volume swallow it up," he said.

For full details on how to have your say on the bypass, see Tuesday's Echo.