High tech surveys are due to be carried out overnight on the main bridges that lead into Grimsby next week

Vital structural repairs are being planned to ensure the main road into Grimsby and Cleethorpes can safely carry traffic in the decades ahead.

The project, one of the most important of its kind along the A180, is being supported by £8-million of funding from the Department of Transport. This was secured by North East Lincolnshire Council due to the importance of the road for the borough’s economic and visitor growth in the future.

Contractors, VSL have been awarded the first contract for doing the works to two of the bridges that was released last year. The third structure is subject to a separate contract which will be tendered shortly, informed by the survey works that were undertaken in November.

Next week, another set of high-tech surveys on the bridges need to be undertaken to help map out in greater detail the structural defects which will enable the works programme to be finalised.

The surveys will be undertaken from 8 Jan for six nights and will involve overnight closures to reduce disruption to businesses and residents as much as possible. The closures on the bridges will only be on the bridges, and localised diversions will be in place for each closure.

Each night, from 8pm to 6am, individual closures will be put in place overnight as follows (please note, the bridges will be opened as soon as works are completed each night):

• Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 January – full closure of Gilbey Road flyover
• Wednesday 10 and Thursday 11 January – full closure of Alexandra Dock flyover
• Friday 12 and Saturday 13 January – full closure of Cleethorpe Road flyover.

About the surveys:

“Bridgology” uses Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and computer aided analysis to identify what is underneath the tarmac, in a similar way to the way GPR is used in fields to identify archaeological remains.

The survey will give surety on the level of structural defects and enable the contractor to map these out for repair, and will significantly reduce site inspection time, reduce visual inspection errors, and ensure the repair is accurate and robust enabling the deck back to be confidently repaired to serviceable life.

Cllr Stewart Swinburn, Cabinet member for Highways, said: “These are critical elements of our highway system in North East Lincolnshire. If these fail, there would be significant impacts, both economically in terms of the amount of trade that use the route, but also for local people going about normal life.

“Given the scale of the programme, it’s inevitable that there will be disruption to the highway network, but we will be working with contractors to make sure this is reduced as much as possible, and these high-tech surveys will help the contractors plan this work.”

Further information about the main works will be released as it is confirmed.