Lincoln's Eastern Bypass faces further questions

Lincoln's proposed Eastern Bypass has been put on hold by the government.

The coalition has announced three tiers of projects - with some given the go-ahead, some competing for cash and others needing more investigation.

The £130m bypass, designed to ease congestion and attract investment, is in this third category.

County council planners said they were optimistic they had a good case and the project would successfully attract funding in the future.

Paul Coathup, the council's assistant director for highways and transport, said: "We have not been put in any list which says we have been cancelled and there were schemes which were identified as cancelled earlier in the month.

"We are in a list of schemes called the Pre-qualification List, and it will be evaluated, but they have a full business case submitted by us for their evaluation."

The Department for Transport has said it will decide by January next year which projects in the 36-strong third tier can compete for £600m of funding.

The route of the proposed bypass is from the A158 Wragby Road in the north, crossing the River Witham on a new bridge, to the A15, east of Bracebridge Heath.