There are demands for Boston to be bypassed. Therefore, Lincolnshire County Council have 'safeguarded' the corridor for the Boston Distributor Road. [7]
Incidents
There are multiple crashes on the A16, especially near Louth and Crowland. [8]
Spalding-Peterborough route change
Old route of the A16
The route of the A16 changed following the completion of the new Spalding-Peterborough link road. The section between Spalding to the south of Crowland only, opened in August 2010; the remainder was completed in October 2011. The new route has taken the number A16, effectively linking the route with Peterborough, with the current road from Spalding to Stamford becoming the A1175.[9]
The A1073 route had become increasingly dangerous over the years because traffic usage had increased. It was narrow with many blind corners and slopes, and much of it was on an embankment with deep ditches either side and no run-off areas. There were dangerous junctions, particularly with the B1443 between Peakirk and Thorney, which formed a staggered crossroads. The road was a principal route servicing the food-processing industry in Spalding, bringing in supplies and moving products to the supermarket distribution system to the south.
An upgrade to the route had been under discussion for many years. The main hold-up was arguments over funding between the administrative counties of Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and the Department for Transport, exacerbated by the actions of a former Leader of Lincolnshire County Council who went to jail for seeking to influence the route to his own financial advantage.[13] Eventually a route was agreed, avoiding Cowbit and Crowland and joining the A47 west of Eye, and in 2008 construction work began, originally due to be completed by Autumn 2010.[14][15]
The Northern 8.3 miles (13.4 km) of the new route opened between Spalding and the roundabout south of Crowland in Autumn 2010, with the opening of the Southern 4.8 miles (7.7 km) delayed due to structural problems at the embankment at Car Dyke Bridge. On completion of remedial repairs and the opening of the Southern portion on 16 October 2011, the new road was renumbered to form part of the A16; the original A1073 alignment between Spalding and Eye Green became an unclassified local road.[16]