The cost of a Galliford Try road project has soared by almost a third before main works have started, reducing the cash available to progress another key highway scheme in the area.<\/p>\n
Buckinghamshire Council said that due to inflation and other cost increases, the 1.8km South East Aylesbury Link Road (SEALR) would now cost \u00a3148m.<\/p>\n
This is a \u00a333m increase from the budget outlined at the start of this year, and leaves the council with a funding gap of almost \u00a312m after reallocation of existing funds.<\/p>\n
The council\u2019s cabinet voted last week to move across money that was previously earmarked to promote the proposed 1,100-home Woodlands development, to go towards the completion of the eventual orbital road around Aylesbury.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo address the shortfall in funding in SEALR phase 1, it is recommended that Housing Infrastructure Fund [allocation] is reprioritised,\u201d said a report to cabinet.<\/p>\n
This will cut the cash available to \u201cinvest in the delivery of the Eastern Link Road South (ELRS) through the marketing of Woodlands\u201d, said the document. \u201cThe reduction in available funding is… likely to influence the outcome of the marketing of the site.\u201d<\/p>\n
The SEALR will connect the A413 Wendover Road with the Stoke Mandeville Relief Road being built as part of High Speed 2.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile the ELRS, part of planning conditions for Woodlands, is designed to connect to the Eastern Link Road North delivered alongside the Kingsbrook development in the town.<\/p>\n
Both roads would ultimately provide alternative routes around Aylesbury in a bid to tackle heavy congestion in the area.<\/p>\n