The hidden drainage network beneath the North Hykeham Relief Road

When the North Hykeham Relief Road opens, most drivers will never see one of its biggest features: the drainage system underneath.

The route will have to deal with around 600 million litres of rainwater a year, roughly the same as 240 Olympic swimming pools. To cope, the team is laying around six miles of drainage pipes and 127 new manholes, and digging almost 22 miles of drains and ditches.

Ten settlement ponds are also being built along the route, nine between the A46 and Station Road and one more at the eastern end. They collect surface water and control how quickly it flows into existing local drainage networks, protecting both the road and the land around it.

Cllr David East, executive member for highways at Lincolnshire County Council, said drainage is "something most people will never see once the project is complete", but that it is vital to making sure the county's biggest infrastructure project lasts.

Source: Lincolnshire County Council press release, https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/news/article/2991/where-does-all-the-rainwater-go-the-hidden-infrastructure-behind-the-north-hykeham-relief-road