New Hawthorn Road footbridge lifted into place

Hawthorn Road footbridge

The 50-metre long, 53-tonne pedestrian and cycle bridge was raised into place on Wednesday 13 November.

Update - 17/01/2020

The start date for the closure of Hawthorn Road will now be Monday 27 January.

The diversion route will be via Bunkers Hill / A158 / Kennel Lane, and vice versa.

Access will be maintained for pedestrians, cyclists and others not in motorised vehicles during the road closure via the new footbridge.

In addition, the Hawthorn Road / St Augustine Road junction will be fully closed from Monday 3 February to Thursday 9 April, with a local diversion in place.

New Hawthorn Road footbridge lifted into place

Karen Cassar, Assistant Director – Highways, said: "The team has been working hard over the past month to prepare the ground, complete the bridge's abutments and weld its two halves together.

"Now that the footbridge is in place, the team will complete the approach embankments and carry out surfacing works over the next three weeks, ahead of the bridge opening up to pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders and other people not in motorised vehicles.

"The bridge's design is future-proofed, meaning it has been built to span 50m. This will allow it to cross over a dualled bypass in the future, which is still something we intend to push for as and when funding becomes available."

The new steel bridge, which was manufactured by NuSteel in Kent, took four months to create and assemble. When in place, it will stand 6.5m above Hawthorn Road at its highest point.

Karen added: "We're also ready to start building the bypass's new Hawthorn Road junction.

"As part of this, we'll be closing Hawthorn Road at its junction with St Augustine Road from Monday 2 December until the bypass officially opens next year.

"Once re-opened, a new road layout will be in place giving road users access to Hawthorn Road east from the new bypass, but with a permanent closure of Hawthorn Road from the west for drivers.

"We want to thank everyone for remaining patient as we continue building Lincoln's new bypass."

The diversion route will be via Bunkers Hill / A158 / Kennel Lane, and vice versa.

Hawthorn Road diversion

Access will be maintained for pedestrians, cyclists and others not in motorised vehicles during the road closure starting in December and from the west when the bypass opens.

The 7.5km Lincoln Eastern Bypass project is part-funded by a £50m Central Government capital grant and will improve Lincoln’s infrastructure, encourage growth, minimise traffic congestion and enhance the inter-city environment.

For the latest news on the Lincoln Eastern Bypass, visit www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/leb.

Published: 14th November 2019