The new temporary guiding structure is set to arrive on site later this month.
Cllr Michael Cheyne, executive member for highways, said: “Since announcing a design error earlier this year, the scheme’s delivery partners and project team have been working tirelessly to finalise the revised details for sliding the bridge into place.
“But work is still taking place on site and the new temporary guiding structure is being built as we speak, with a view to attaching it to the front of the bridge over the coming months. From there, we can start moving the bridge over top of the East Coast Main Line and River Witham once all of the project’s suppliers can agree the finer details of the launch system.”
The temporary guiding structure is integral to accurately sliding the new 2,500-tonne bridge over the East Coast Main Line and River Witham to its destination nearly 300 metres away.
The bridge push was originally scheduled to start this summer, but gaining approvals from everyone involved for the new design solution has taken longer than expected. Because of this, the relief road will not open in 2026.
Cllr Cheyne added: “I understand how frustrating this news will be for the people of Grantham, especially when 90% of the road is built and ready to use. However, it’s incredibly important that all the engineering technical processes are in place before things progress any further, to ensure the council does not end up in the same situation again.
“Although we don’t have an exact date for when the relief road will be ready to open, I can say with confidence that, once the bridge push does start, it will be approximately two years until the road can open.
“Please rest assured that I’ll be doing everything in my power to ensure this project doesn’t slip any further.”
The county council is still in the process of pursuing contractual and legal processes with a view to holding those responsible for the design error to account and recovering taxpayer money.
Once the relief road’s bridge is in situ, the rest of the bridge structure will be built on the east side of site, including lifting new steel beams into place. Following that, the focus will be on concreting the bridge decks, installing safety barriers, laying road surfacing and carrying out embankment works on the western lead up to the bridge.
When opened, the whole relief road will stretch for 3.5km, linking the A52 at Somerby Hill to the A1.
For the latest news on the Grantham Southern Relief Road, visit www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/gsrr.