Editing Grantham (section)

==Transport==
===Rail===
[[File:Grantham station - geograph.org.uk - 1663793.jpg|thumb|right|[[British Rail Class 91|Class 91]] Electric locomotive at the station in May 2004, looking south]]
[[File:Bridge 66.JPG|thumb|right|Bridge 66 on the Grantham Canal at Harlaxton]]
[[File:Spittlegate mill 2.JPG|thumb|right|Spittlegate Millhouse, Grantham]]
[[Grantham railway station]] is served by the London–Edinburgh [[East Coast Main Line]], between [[Peterborough railway station|Peterborough]] and [[Newark North Gate railway station|Newark Northgate]]). It is joined by the [[Nottingham-Grantham Line|Nottingham to Skegness Line]] ([[Poacher Line]]). Liverpool–Norwich trains also call at Grantham. Electric trains began running in October 1988. Transport links to Nottingham and Peterborough attract some commuters. The town's [[grammar school]]s also attract pupils from [[Radcliffe on Trent]], [[Bingham, Nottinghamshire|Bingham]], [[Newark-on-Trent|Newark]] and even [[Retford]] via the train.{{citation needed|date=May 2012}} Grantham is the best-served station in Lincolnshire,{{citation needed|date=May 2012}} although after October 1970, most of [[East Lincolnshire Railway|Lincolnshire's branch lines]] were closed. Before October 1970 the connection from [[London King's Cross railway station|King's Cross]] to [[Lincoln railway station|Lincoln Central]] was through Grantham and followed the A607 via [[Leadenham railway station|Leadenham]]. After that date, London-Lincoln trains still passed through Grantham, but then continued up the main line to [[Newark North Gate railway station|Newark Northgate]], where the trains branched off to [[Lincoln St Marks railway station|Lincoln St Marks Railway Station]] via a new curve just north of Newark.

In 1906 a [[Grantham rail accident|rail accident]] killed 14 people.{{citation needed|date=May 2012}}

On 3 July 1938 ''[[LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard|Mallard]]'' broke the [[Land speed record for railed vehicles|world speed record]] for [[steam locomotive]]s, at {{convert|126|mph|km/h|0|abbr=on}}, on the slight downward grade of [[Stoke Bank]] south of Grantham on the [[East Coast Main Line]].

===Road===
The Great North Road was routed through the town in 1196. The turnpike to the north reached the town in 1725, that to Stamford in 1739, to Nottingham in 1758, and that to Melton in 1780.

The [[A1 road (Great Britain)|A1]] main road from London to [[Edinburgh]] runs past the town, which was bypassed in 1962. The [[A52 road|A52]] linking Nottingham and the East Coast was diverted from High Street onto the Inner Relief Road, Sankt Augustin Way, in 1998. Wharf Road and London Road junction is still a busy junction on the [[A607 road|A607]] for Lincoln. Motorway-style [[Grantham North Services]], at the north end of Grantham bypass, is on a new junction which replaced a roundabout in May 2008.<ref>{{cite web |date=1 April 2008 |title=Highways Agency – Gonerby Moor Progress Photos |url=http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/17538.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090709110058/http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/17538.aspx |archive-date=9 July 2009 |access-date=30 July 2009 |publisher=Highways.gov.uk }}</ref>

Grantham, with [[Stamford, Lincolnshire|Stamford]], had been earmarked for a bypass before the war in 1939. There were 60 serious accidents a year, with three to four deaths. After the war, on 21 November 1945, there was a meeting at the Guildhall about the proposed bypass of the London-Edinburgh-Thurso trunk road for Grantham and Great Gonerby. This was the first enquiry into a trunk road scheme in the country after the war. The proposed route followed the current line, from [[Little Ponton]] to College Farm, except it was to be a single carriageway road.{{citation needed|date=May 2012}}

On 8 February 1960, it was announced that a bypass would be built, including the route south to the [[B6403 road|B6403]] at [[Colsterworth]]. [[Robert McGregor & Sons|Robert McGregor and Sons Ltd]] of Manchester would build the road for £1,856,009. (The company went on to build Newark bypass in 1964.) The bridges were built by [[Simon Carves]] of [[Cheadle Hulme]]. It was formally opened on 10 October 1962 by [[James Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 3rd Earl of Ancaster]], then the [[Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire]] (from 1950 to 1975).<ref>{{cite web |title=Concrete Quarterly 55, page 32 |url=http://www.concretecentre.com/PDF/cq_055.PDF |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110704230206/http://www.concretecentre.com/PDF/cq_055.PDF |archive-date=4 July 2011 |access-date=21 June 2017 }}</ref> He was married to the (only) daughter of [[Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor|Nancy Astor]].

Various attempts at one-way systems in Grantham have been introduced, but traffic delays are still commonplace. Low railway bridges also add to traffic difficulties, with lorries becoming stuck under them. Many promises have been made by the local council for a Grantham bypass road. The latest, the Grantham Southern Relief Road, has been in planning since 2007. Phase one of the project was completed in 2016 which provided access to some commercial facilitates and a new roundabout on the B1174.<ref>{{cite web |last=Schubert |first=Chris |title=Grantham Southern Relief Road |url=https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/major-projects/grantham-southern-relief-road |access-date=6 December 2022 |website=Lincolnshire County Council }}</ref> Phase Two, started in October 2019, involves a new grade separated junction on the A1 and is due to be opened on 20 December 2022. Phase three for the main stretch of road started in 2021 and due to be completed by 2023. In July 2022 it was found that ground conditions at a new viaduct were for as expected, and the project would be delayed as the viaduct would need to be redesigned.<ref>{{cite web |last=Schubert |first=Chris |title=Unexpected engineering issue for Grantham Southern Relief Road project |url=https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/news/article/1133/unexpected-engineering-issue-for-grantham-southern-relief-road-project |access-date=6 December 2022 |website=Lincolnshire County Council }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Schubert |first=Chris |title=Grantham Southern Relief Road |url=https://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/major-projects/grantham-southern-relief-road |access-date=21 December 2020 |website=Lincolnshire County Council }}</ref>

===Waterways===
Grantham was once linked to Nottingham by the [[Grantham Canal]]. It is possible to walk and cycle along the canal starting from Grantham near the A1/A607 intersection (opposite ''The Farrier'').

The [[River Witham]] runs through Grantham. It has a riverside walk linking Dysart Park and Wyndham Park, on which is a view of Spittlegate Mill. The walk passes Inner Street allotment and the rear of [[Sainsbury's]] car park, access to which is by a pedestrian bridge at the end of College Street. There are other footbridges with views of the river and its weirs. Swans, ducks and trout are among the wildlife that can be seen along the river.