North Hykeham Relief Road to begin construction in early 2026
The project has been given approved by the government.
The North Hykeham Relief Road will begin construction in early 2026 after being given the green light by the government.
However, it’s not been decided yet whether Lincolnshire County Council will need to pay for over £4million of extra design features to protect rare bats.
The recommendations for a £3million bat bridge and a £1.3million bat tunnel were previously described as a “travesty” by councillors.
The authority is talking to the government about whether the project would be unacceptable without them, and says no decision has been made yet.
The new dual carriageway will connect Lincoln’s eastern bypass to the A46 Pennells roundabout, completing a ring road around the city.
The government will contribute £110million, with the council’s share rising to just over £100million after a series of unexpected costs.
Reform Councillor Michael Cheyne, executive member for highways, said: “This is fantastic news for the North Hykeham Relief Road project and the people of Lincolnshire, since it means we’re one step closer to starting construction early next year as planned.
“Now that we’ve been given the all clear by the Government to move forward, the next step is to officially appoint a contractor.
“This will be a topic of discussion at our Highways and Transport Scrutiny Committee meeting in December, and then voted on by the Executive in early January.
“In the meantime, I want to thank everyone involved in getting us to this stage – in particular, all of the project team involved in getting us through the public inquiry process.
“The Secretary of State’s decision to give the relief road the go ahead is a testament to all the hard work they’ve put in up to this stage.”
Barbastelle bats, which are endangered and protected under UK law, were discovered in the area during the planning process.
The ‘bat bridge’ would create a hedgerow over the North Hykeham bypass which the bats can follow through echolocation without flying into traffic.
A similar bypass project around Norwich was abandoned recently after councils were unable to avoid potentially harming this species of bats.