National Highways has put the likely total cost of its flagship A66 Northern Trans-Pennine Project at nearly £1.5bn, compared to a ‘target cost’ of £1.3bn.
The higher figure appears in a Funding Statement submitted by the government-owned company in support of its application for development consent for the scheme.
Under the heading ‘Capital Cost’, the document states: ‘The Project has a most-likely estimate of £1,490 million, including allowances for risk and inflation at the date of application.’
The news follows the disclosure last month that Department for Transport’s (DfT) permanent secretary, Bernadette Kelly, allowed the scheme to proceed, despite cost increases causing it to be assessed as poor value for money.
When National Highways put the scheme forward for development consent in July, it described it as a ‘£1bn project'. Last month, it announced that ‘four contractors have put pen to paper to collectively deliver the £1.3bn A66 Northern Trans-Pennine project’.
National Highways’ project director for the scheme, Lee Hillyard, said: ‘The estimate of £1.49bn includes allowances for risk and inflation at the time we submitted the DCO application.
‘This figure includes all current costs to deliver the project, from the assessment of initial design options through to opening the road for traffic. However, as we have stated previously, we’re committed to delivering the scheme for £1.31bn and this is the total we’ve agreed with our four delivery partners.
‘We are now in the process of working through the detail of this lower target cost with Balfour Beatty, Costain, Kier and Keltbray.’
The A66 scheme aims to dual the remaining single carriageway sections of the road between Scotch Corner and Penrith.
It is part of Project Speed, which the DfT said provides insight into how government major construction schemes can be delivered faster, realising benefits sooner.
The Funding Statement, dated June 2022, notes that in the 2021 Budget the Government announced that it would provide a further £146m during the current road investment strategy to accelerate the start of construction on the scheme.
It states: ‘In addition to the previously approved options and development phase funding of £34 million, an additional £135 million was released to complete the development phase, buy land by agreement, and undertake some advanced works, making the total released funds for the A66 £169 million.’
Rebecca Lush, roads and climate campaigner at Transport Action Network, said: "It is hard to imagine how National Highways think they can deliver the controversial A66 scheme cheaper than predictions, when they have such a poor record of cost control and construction inflation is currently running at around 17%.
'National Highways seem to live in a fantasy world where road schemes can be delivered under budget and increasing carbon emissions doesn't matter.'
