Grantham's Barrowby Road will close to motorists for three months from next week when Network Rail begins work on a £2.7million project to improve two railway bridges in the town.

The bridges carry the busy East Coast Main Line over Barrowby Road and Springfield Road.

Network Rail engineers will be carrying out strengthening works - repairing the steel and brickwork - as well as re-waterproofing and painting sections.

The work will be undertaken on one bridge at a time to reduce disruption to people and businesses in Grantham.

Barrowby Road bridge is being worked on first and the road will be closed from 6am on Tuesday (1 Sept) until Friday, 4 December.

A signposted diversionary route will be in place for motorists.

Pedestrians will be allowed to continue to walk under the bridge, but cyclists will be asked to push their bikes because of the reduced space available.

Paul Rutter, Route Director for Network Rail's East Coast route, said: "This work to strengthen the two railway bridges is vital for the railway and the community of Grantham that the line runs through.

"We have planned the work carefully to phase it so that we keep disruption to a minimum for people in the town.

"One of the roads will be open throughout all of this project, except for one weekend in November.

"We're also making sure that both roads are open around Christmas.

"We would like to thank people in advance for their patience whilst the work is carried out and apologise for any inconvenience."

Once Barrowby Road reopens in December, both roads will remain open over Christmas until work begins on Springfield Road bridge in January.

Springfield Road will then remain closed until the project is completed in March 2021.

Both roads need to close for one weekend, on Saturday, 28 and Sunday, 29 November 2020, for work to improve drainage on both bridges.

This part of the project will also impact on train services, as the line will be closed to allow the work to take place safely.