The county council’s assistant director for highways updates on the current state of Grantham’s roadworks.
Karen Cassar, assistant director for highways, said: "I want to make it absolutely clear once again. South Kesteven District Council are behind the Market Place and Station Approach projects. Our role in these works has always been as a delivery partner. We assisted in the technical element of the project, but can't answer for the why.
"As we previously explained, there was likely to be substantial disruption throughout Grantham when South Kesteven District Council's Station Approach works started this week. However, we're already seeing a noticeable improvement today compared to yesterday.
"The situation yesterday and early this morning was made worse by broken down vehicles; a five-vehicle accident caused by a drug driver; and HGVs queuing under the rail bridge at Harlaxton Road, blocking traffic from the other direction.
"To help improve the situation, we've adjusted the signals at Wharf Road and we're also looking at options for improving queues at other locations, including the Trent Road/Springfield Road junction.
"In the meantime, we're asking people to plan accordingly and leave longer for their journeys when travelling in and around Grantham."
Planning of the Grantham works
Karen Cassar said: "The reason all three of these projects are on-site at the same time is due to the constraints of South Kesteven District Council's Future High Street Fund money for the Market Place and Station Approach works, particularly a deadline for spending the money by March 2025.
"We were originally hoping to start the Market Place and Station Approach works sooner, but funding issues with South Kesteven District Council meant we had to start when we did.
"We were also pushing to carry out the Station Approach works first, which would have meant that our Dysart Road improvements wouldn't be happening at the same time - but South Kesteven District Council wanted to prioritise the Market Place works so our hands were tied in terms of scheduling.
"Our Dysart Road improvements, which have been planned for more than a year, need to be carried out now. Sections of the road are starting to crumble and the failing drainage is causing several issues locally. As the Highways Authority, it's our job to ensure busy roads like this are repaired before they get worse and become a safety concern. If we'd pushed this project back, the situation would have only got worse."
Halting the Station Approach works
Karen Cassar said: "It's still very early days for the Station Approach works since they only started yesterday. The traffic situation is already starting to calm down and we expect things to improve more as the week goes on.
"Nothing is off the table at this stage, but we remain very mindful of meeting South Kesteven District Council's spending deadlines for their Future High Street Fund money.
"We'll continue reviewing and monitoring the situation on a daily basis and will continue making appropriate changes to the works to help keep people moving while they are underway."
Karen Cassar added: "We're as frustrated as everyone else by this collision of schedules that can't be resolved. I completely understand that carrying these works out all at once is not ideal, but we've had to make the best of the situation and the short timeframes we've been given for the Market Place and Station Approach works.
"We'll continue doing our everything we can to make the best of the current roadworks situation in Grantham, and we'll continue getting on with delivering all of these projects as quickly and efficiently as possible."
For more information about these and other major highways projects, visit www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/majorprojects.