The ~National Audit Office~ is to investigate the £1.5bn hike in construction costs for local authority major road projects.
Sir John Bourn, head of the NAO, has written to the Liberal Democrats confirming the investigation into reasons for increases in costs of both Highways Agency and local authority road schemes. The DfT released figures before Christmas showing that the average cost of local authority road schemes rose by 47% from when they obtained provisional approval to the final construction cost, increasing the cost from £3.5bn to £5bn.
Highways Agency schemes, meanwhile, rose by £1bn in total. Commenting, Lib Dem transport spokesman Alistair Carmichael, said: ‘Taxpayers deserve to know whether their money is being used properly. It is clear already, however, the DfT and the Highways Agency have questions to answer, and there should be an immediate freeze on the roads budget until we get to the bottom of what is driving these cost rises.’
Chair of the County Surveyors’ Society highways management committee, ~Matthew Lugg~ said: ‘This should not be happening anymore. It is poor project management. Authorities should look to use schemes where contractors are rewarded for bringing projects in on time and on budget, and also penalised when they don’t.’ But Lugg believed most authorities were now managing projects better than in the past. Many of the schemes the figures related to were first drawn up years ago.
The biggest overall increase for a local authority scheme was the A127/A1159 road expansion scheme in Southend, Essex, which rocketed from £3.5M to £27.5M. But Southend Borough Council said the projected cost was £20.5M. Increases were due to anti-road protesters, the discovery of an important Anglo-Saxon grave, and delays caused by a public inquiry.
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