No money left to finish road connecting £50m ‘bridge to nowhere’, Lincolnshire council admits

A UK council that spent £50 million building a “bridge to nowhere” has admitted that it cannot afford to complete the project without external funding.

Lincolnshire County Council finished building the bridge last year as part of a £110 million project to ease traffic on the A16 route around the west side of Spalding.

On Monday (June 2), the council confirmed that £33 million was missing from the budget to complete the connecting 6.5km sections of the Spalding Western Relief Road.

Original plans for the project, which started construction in 2022, proposed a “7.3m-wide single carriage road in five sections”.

The council budget for 2025 to 2026 allocated £27.7 million in funding towards finishing the southern section of the road.

Estimated costs to complete this section of the relief road are between £50 million and £60 million.

According to the council website, no funding has been identified for the southern or middle sections of the relief road.

“Contributions from developers are expected to be the primary source of funding for both,” it adds.

Aerial pictures show the route comes to a quick stop at the end of the completed bridge.

The project is not expected to be finished until at least 2030 as the council looks to secure funding.

A spokesperson for the council’s highways department said: “Construction of the north section of the Spalding Western Relief Road was completed in October 2024.

“In the approved 2025/26 council budget, there is currently £27.7m earmarked towards building the southern section of the Spalding Western Relief Road in the future. However, the current estimated cost of building this section is between £50-60 million, which means external funding will be needed. That is why we are continuing to work closely with South Holland District Council to identify funding opportunities, including remaining in touch with Homes England.

“In addition, no funding has yet been allocated or secured for the middle sections of the relief road as these are intended to be built in the long-term, as outlined in the South East Lincolnshire Local Plan.”

The council added that the northern section of the relief road had opened up land allocated for an initial 1,100 homes as outlined in the South East Lincolnshire Local Plan.

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