Purpose

The A151 Colsterworth resurfacing scheme forms part of the Strategic Route Surfacing Programme for 2026/27, which was approved through the Key Decision report in December 2025. As part of that decision, authority was delegated to the Executive Director for Place, in consultation with the Executive Councillor for Highways and Transport, to take the necessary decisions to procure and award contracts for the individual schemes within the approved programme.

These sections of the A151 has been under development for resurfacing for approximately two years and has been identified through the Council’s Highways Infrastructure Asset Management Plan (HIAMP) as requiring intervention. Condition data shows that the carriageway has deteriorated beyond the point where preventative maintenance treatments would be effective. The surface condition index is consistently high along the length of the site, indicating widespread structural deterioration and the increasing likelihood of defects such as potholes and surface failures.

Progressing the scheme will enable the carriageway to be reconstructed to modern standards capable of sustaining current traffic loading on this strategically important route. The works will provide a new carriageway structure with an anticipated design life of approximately twenty years, improving ride quality for road users while significantly reducing the need for reactive maintenance and associated enquiries or third-party claims. This approach is consistent with the Council’s asset management strategy, which prioritises timely structural intervention to maximise whole life value and maintain a safe and serviceable highway network.

The decision to award the contract and progress the works is therefore being taken under the delegated authority previously approved as part of the Strategic Route Surfacing Programme, enabling the Council to deliver the programme efficiently while maintaining alignment with the approved budget and asset management principles.

Decision

That the contract be awarded to Holcim for the A151
Colsterworth Reconstruction works

Alternative options considered

A number of alternative approaches were considered as part of the development of the Strategic Route Surfacing Programme and the individual scheme design.

One option would be to continue with reactive maintenance, such as patching and localised repairs, to extend the serviceable life of the carriageway. However, the condition of these sections of the A151 have deteriorated beyond the point where such interventions would provide a durable solution. Reactive repairs would only provide short term improvements and would require repeated traffic management and further maintenance interventions, resulting in greater disruption to road users and higher whole life costs.
Alternative surfacing materials were also considered. While some materials may offer a lower initial construction cost, they generally provide a shorter service life on heavily trafficked strategic routes such as the A151, making note in particular of the local truckstop business whose repeated lorry manoeuvres are extremely detrimental to the carriageway, and the two roundabouts. Adopting such materials would therefore reduce the longevity of the scheme and lead to earlier future interventions, making them less effective from a whole life asset management perspective.

The option of deferring the scheme or removing it from the programme was also considered. However, the scheme was identified through the Council’s data led asset management approach as being one of the higher priority sites on the strategic network. Delaying intervention would likely lead to further deterioration of the carriageway structure, increased safety risks, and higher future repair costs.

For these reasons, progressing the resurfacing works as part of the approved Strategic Route Surfacing Programme was considered to be the most appropriate and cost effective option.