The DfT has revealed that nearly seven months into construction work of the Tunstall northern bypass, Stoke-on-Trent informed the Government that the scheme cost had increased due to ‘significantly poorer than anticipated ground conditions’.
But
Steve Berry, of the DfT’s regional and local major projects division, has rejected suggestions that agreeing to cover most of the increase sent out the wrong messages to councils.
The 1.5km bypass, designed to remove traffic from the residential area of Tunstall, was expected to cost £7.8M when it was granted full approval in October 2006, but this had risen by 59% to £12.3M by the following July.
Ian Norris, a Tunstall resident who campaigned against the road on the basis of its impact on Scotia Valley, told Surveyor he cried foul over the DfT’s decision to provide £3M of the £4.6M cost hike.
‘It seems as though local councils can get away with submitting low costs to make their schemes seem better value for money than they really are, safe in the knowledge that these low tenders will be covered by the Government.’
He was backed by the
Campaign for Better Transport, which has conducted research on trunk and motorway schemes approved since 1997 that indicates an average cost overrun of 55%.
Berry conceded that the road was in a site of known mining activity. But he accepted Stoke-on-Trent’s explanation that the drilling of boreholes during the detailed design phase had failed to provide a full picture of ground conditions, which were revealed during construction.
The Department was ‘not obliged to provide any further funding’ but to not do so ‘would have serious adverse consequences for the delivery of the council’s other transport objectives,’ he said.
Mark Meredith, Stoke’s elected mayor, was ‘delighted’ that the Government had accepted the ‘watertight case’ made by city technical officers. But Norris hoped that a full report explaining the cost hike would be submitted to councillors.
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