WORK on the next phase of a new £8.5m road linking the ports of Grimsby and Immingham starts next week (w/c June 8) following a Covid-related delay.
Once complete the Humber Link Road will see a lot of heavy traffic taken away from the A180 with a travel time that will take around 20 minutes off journeys between the two ports. The new highway will run from the Moody Lane/Woad Lane junction in Grimsby (near Novartis) to Hobson Way, Stallingborough.
Part of North East Lincolnshire Council’s £42m SHIIP, (South Humber Industrial Investment Programme), it also opens-up previously inaccessible Enterprise Zone land to development opportunities and is being supported by The Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership, (GLLEP).
Managed by the council’s regeneration partner ENGIE, contractors Colas are building the road in three phases. The first, through previously undeveloped land with no road was completed in late spring and runs from Hobson Way to ‘The Gatehouse’.
The next phase – a complete replacement of the existing road between ‘The Gatehouse’ and Moody Lane was then scheduled but halted when Covid-19 restrictions were enforced. As a result, the whole road was temporarily allowed to re-open, with vehicles using a combination of the existing and new sections.
With necessary arrangements for utility work to coincide with construction now in place and supply assurances gained, this build of approximately 14-weeks will now start. The old, existing piece of road at the Eastern end, will close from as late as possible on Monday, June 8, and be torn up to be replaced by a fit-for-purpose highway which follows the same, or a similar route.
Following this, the final part of the programme will take place, which involves the building of a drainage culvert to link the first two phases together and complete the new, adopted 8.5km Humber Link Road.
As has been reported, this work is starting at the same time as the introduction of a temporary one-way system on the nearby A1173 to construct a new roundabout.
With COVID-19 delaying both projects until now, there has been a thorough investigation into alternative options to avoid this. However, a further delay on either would have seen a potential for substantial financial consequences. It would have also further delayed elements of the SHIIP project at a time when North East Lincolnshire needs to create the right environment for healthy business growth.
SHIIP is the most ambitious industrial project in the area’s history and is made up of several significant developments, which are funded by a blend of council investment and grants.
They include the Humber Link Road, the creation of Stallingborough Business Park where ambitious firm myenergi will be anchor tenant, the improvements to the A1173, and the creation of a unique and national award-winning environmental mitigation site to offset development in the area. Incentives presented by SHIIP have been reported as a factor in the decision by companies such as Velocys and myenergi to come to this area of North East Lincolnshire.
Announcing the link road’s re-start, North East Lincolnshire Council’s regeneration head, Cllr John Fenty, said: “All involved with this project recognise that such extensive works present problems for some, especially businesses in the surrounding area, and we thank those affected for their continued understanding and patience.
“We know also that they are aware of how better infrastructure is vital if we are to further improve our industrial outlook. Indeed, the whole of SHIIP is highly important to the future success of our area in terms of jobs, opportunity and financial stability,” he added.