The biggest construction phase of the North Hykeham Relief Road is now underway in Lincolnshire, according to the council.

The project’s large-scale earthworks operation will involve excavating, moving and shaping huge quantities of soil and rock to create the foundations and shape of the new road. At the same time, a dedicated earthworks processing operation has been established to recycle and reuse excavated material directly within the scheme.

Over the lifetime of the project, around 1.2 million tonnes of material will be excavated, with more than one million tonnes reused on site. Around 250,000 tonnes of limestone excavated from the Lincoln Cliff area alone will be crushed, processed and incorporated back into the new road, rather than being taken away as waste and replaced with imported materials.

Cllr David East, executive member for highways at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “This is the biggest operation we’ll undertake during construction of the North Hykeham Relief Road, so seeing these earthworks get underway is a major milestone for Lincolnshire’s largest infrastructure project.

“From the outset, we’ve designed the scheme so as much excavated material as possible can be reused on site. That means fewer lorry movements on local roads, lower carbon emissions, less waste and savings worth millions of pounds for taxpayers.

“Those are savings that ultimately help protect public money while allowing more investment to be directed towards the services and infrastructure that matter most to Lincolnshire’s communities.

“Every stage like this brings us closer to delivering a road that will reduce congestion, improve journey reliability and unlock significant economic growth across the Lincoln area.”

Most excavation is currently taking place at the Lincoln Cliff, immediately west of Grantham Road and Station Road, where material is being removed ahead of construction of the new Station Road bridge.

The excavated limestone will be used to construct the large embankments between Station Road and the River Witham, and between the River Witham and South Hykeham Road. Once processed, the material will also form the structural foundation layers of the new road.

Elsewhere along the route:

• Material excavated between Grantham Road and the A15 will largely be reused within the same section of the project. 
• Material excavated between South Hykeham Road and the A46 will help construct the new balancing ponds and associated earthworks in that area. 

The dedicated processing area covers around 35,000 square metres on the west side of Grantham Road.

Some of the limestone being excavated is enormous — with individual rocks comparable in size to a family car before being processed.

The material is inspected, sorted and crushed before being screened into different grades suitable for road construction. Each batch is then tested to ensure it meets the required specification before being reused within the project.

At the heart of the operation are two specialist machines:

• R131 Impact Crusher — capable of processing around 400 tonnes per hour 
• McCloskey J45 Jaw Crusher — capable of processing around 300 tonnes per hour 

Together, they enable huge quantities of excavated rock to be transformed into high-quality construction material without leaving the site.

Sam Edwards, head of highways infrastructure for Lincolnshire County Council, said: “Earthworks on a project of this scale generate enormous volumes of material, so making the best possible use of it has always been central to our construction strategy.

“Processing suitable material on site means we’re not paying to export it as waste and then paying again to import replacement aggregates. Instead, we’re creating a valuable construction resource exactly where it’s needed.

“Combined with our dedicated haul road, this operation allows us to move material safely and efficiently around the site while removing more than 150,000 construction vehicle movements from the local road network over the course of the project.

“It’s a great example of how careful planning, modern engineering and sustainable construction methods can deliver better outcomes for taxpayers, the environment and the communities the relief road will ultimately serve.”

Once complete, the five-mile North Hykeham Relief Road will provide a new link between the A46 Pennells Roundabout and the A15 Sleaford Road.

The scheme will reduce congestion around North Hykeham and Lincoln, improve journey reliability, unlock land for around 4,500 new homes and seven hectares of employment space, and is expected to generate around £800 million of economic benefits for Lincolnshire over the next 60 years.

£110 million was allocated for the project in November 2020 from the Department for Transport’s ‘Large Local Majors’ programme.

The project is being carried out by Balfour Beatty.

PIC-Lincolnshire CC