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13 September 2011 02:08
Motoring
Funding bid submitted for Lincoln Eastern Bypass
A ‘best and final’ bid for £50 million, towards the expected £98 million cost of the Lincoln Eastern Bypass, has now been submitted to the Department for Transport.
The bid successfully made it through an initial ‘expression of interest’ stage in February. The county council is making a contribution of £14m and, following an Executive meeting on 15 August, is acting as ‘guarantor’ to underwrite the £34m third party funded element.
Executive Member for Highways and Transportation, Councillor William Webb, said: “A Lincoln Eastern Bypass has been sought after for almost 20 years now. It is the best solution to relieve congestion by improving traffic flow in the city, and it will have a tremendous positive impact on economic prosperity for the county as a whole.
“This will be the best opportunity we get to make the Lincoln Eastern Bypass a reality. The recent agreement by LCC to act as guarantor for any funding shortfall strengthens our bid position considerably. This doesn’t mean that we’ve found an additional £34m to construct a bypass but we are able and prepared to borrow in anticipation of having it returned as the local development market improves.
“We are also working to find solutions and improve the highway in other parts of Lincolnshire too, for instance in Grantham, Spalding and Boston.
“What it means is that if we are successful with our DfT bid, construction of the bypass can start much sooner using this money, without having to wait to finalise the details of ‘developer contributions’. Any additional money needed would only be for the short term because these developer contributions will be recouped over the next 15 years from anticipated housing development across central Lincolnshire. This is an excellent opportunity to deliver this much needed scheme, and taxpayers won’t be out of pocket.”
The Lincoln Eastern Bypass would take around two years to build and construction could start in early 2014, if the bid is successful. Changes to the process of bidding for money for major highway schemes under central government directives have seen a two year delay with the project. A decision from the DfT about whether the £50m bid has been successful is expected by Christmas.
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