Road costs revealed

ROADS

The Welsh Government has published estimated and outturn costs for 16 trunk road projects. In most cases the outturn cost was significantly higher than the estimate when the contractor was first appointed at tender.

The A487 Porthmadog bypass, completed in 2011, cost £56m, compared with an estimated £26.4m at contract appointment. The A470 Cwmbach to Newbridge improvement also more than doubled in cost.

The increase was lower on the more recent schemes in the list, with the A465 dualling between Brynmawr and Tredegar, completed in 2015, having an outturn of £156m compared with the £148.4m estimate at contract appointment. 

The most recent road scheme in the list, the A483/A489 Newtown bypass, currently under construction, saw its project estimate fall to £95m when the contract was awarded in 2016, compared with £101.3m when the contractor was appointed in 2013. The estimated outturn cost is also £95m.