Thirteen 14+ tonne bridge beams have been lifted into placed into place as part of Grantham Southern Relief Road project.

Cllr Richard Davies, Executive Member for Highways and Transport, said: "Getting the last of these massive beams lifted into place is huge milestone for the relief road since it means we're just months away from completing the second phase of this all-important scheme.

"Galliford Try's focus will now be on building the new bridge deck over top of these beams ahead of completing phase two later this year.

"The team is also still hard at work getting the two new connecting roundabouts built, along with the four new A1 slip roads.

"This project is coming along really well, and we're still on track to open the whole relief road by the end of 2023."

Below are some facts and figures about the bridge beams and the new bridge, itself:

The beams were lifted into place overnight from Weds 10 to Fri 11 February

All the bridge beams were manufactured by Shay Murtagh's in Ireland

When finished, the new A1 / relief road connection will span for 17½ metres, with four new slip roads constructed off of and under the A1

A crew of six specialist operatives safely installed the beams using a 250-tonne crane

The bridge beams were constructed using pre-cast concrete

Sixteen bridge beams were also lifted into place during July 2020

As part of the work two additional nights of southbound A1 closures, between Harlaxton and Little Ponton, will be in place yesterday (Mon) and today (Tue) from 8pm to 6am (diversion via the A607 at Harlaxton to the A606 to A1 at Stamford).

Following that, three evenings of night-time closures on the A1 northbound between Little Ponton and Harlaxton will start on Wednesday 17 February (diversion via A606 at Stamford to A607 to A1 at Harlaxton.

The Grantham Southern Relief Road project is being led by Lincolnshire County Council and supported by South Kesteven District Council, Greater Lincolnshire LEP, Highways England, Department for Transport, Network Rail, Homes England and local businesses.

For the latest news on the Grantham Southern Relief Road, visit: www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/majorprojects.