8:25am Wednesday 20th August 2008
WEYMOUTH'S long-awaited relief road has come under fire from campaigners angered by spiralling costs.
The Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) pressure group, formerly called Transport 2000, claimed the cost of the controversial scheme had leapt by 46 per cent since it was introduced in December 2003.
The route's £84 million price tag puts it fifth in the CBT's table of the most expensive local authority roads.
But Dorset County Council highways chief Andy Ackerman said the increase was simply down to uncontrollable external factors.
South Dorset MP Jim Knight blamed campaigners delaying the initiative for the rising costs. The fresh attack on the road comes as supporters await the result of a public inquiry into the scheme.
The CBT said the cost of the Weymouth proposal had soared from £55 million when it was first tabled nearly five years ago.
It also revealed the total cost of the routes included in the Government's road-building programme had increased to more than £8 billion.
CBT roads and climate campaigner Richard George said: "The Government has consistently failed to keep the spiralling cost of road building under control.
"It cannot expect the taxpayer to pick up a £8.12 billion bill for a collection of expensive white elephants that will increase traffic, pollution and carbon emissions."
But Mr Ackerman said the £29 million increase in the price of the Weymouth Relief Road was down to rising construction costs.
He said: "The rise can be accounted for by inflation, which has been running very high.
"It's factors out of anyone's control such as steel prices and oil prices, which have gone up very quickly.
"The fact the process has been slowed has also added to the cost. If we'd started building the road last year it would have cost £4 million less."
Mr Ackerman said some design aspects of the route had been honed' during the public inquiry process but that minor alterations were not to blame for the rise. He said Dorset County Council was still very confident' of getting a positive decision on the road and starting initial work soon.
"We're very proud of the scheme we've come up with," he added.
"It's one which will really add value environmentally, as well as in transport terms."
Mr Knight hit out at the CBT for complaining about rising costs.
He said: "It's the constant drip feed of frivolous challenges coming in from such organisations that's delaying a decision on the road.
"Delay increases the cost because of inflation.
"If they're worried about rising costs why don't they just let local people have their way and let us build this road."
swibley, weymouth says...
9:16am Wed 20 Aug 08
Mikeman, Portland says...
10:29am Wed 20 Aug 08
Dorset Beachcomber, Preston, Weymouth says...
10:53am Wed 20 Aug 08
paulkc, weymouth says...
11:16am Wed 20 Aug 08
yogi, weymouth says...
11:19am Wed 20 Aug 08
Perry Winkle, Weymouth says...
11:30am Wed 20 Aug 08
techie, Weymouth says...
1:10pm Wed 20 Aug 08
paulkc wrote:If you read the Environmental Statement (available for download from dorsetforyou.com you will find that at least one alignment involving a tunnel was evaluated.
Tunnel Vision....
Why is there only the choice of a road or no road? Are there any groups out there supporting a tunnel - no disruption on the surface and if it ran under the ridgeway - it could save fuel.
Dorset Boy, Wilds of Dorset says...
2:08pm Wed 20 Aug 08
Ask Archie, Weymouth says...
3:25pm Wed 20 Aug 08
tiger, preston says...
4:50pm Wed 20 Aug 08
Perhaps the objectors would like to dip into their own pockets to pay for the rise in millions instead of putting the burden on the tax payer. Get on and build the road!!!!
genghis, portland says...
5:00pm Wed 20 Aug 08
yogi wrote:Yeah! As Weymuff is a cul de sac it would also makes sense to scrap the existing roads into the town as well then? Nobody wants a road into a cul de sac after all.
Lets hope for more delays so the road into a cul de sac will become far too costly to build...
Ask Archie, Weymouth says...
5:00pm Wed 20 Aug 08
chanticleer, locked on says...
1:28am Thu 21 Aug 08
Ask Archie wrote:You conveniently forget that if the road was built ten years ago it would have been the totally discredited Green Route. You must remember it, the DCC's fantasy route which involved much of the proposed road becoming a dual-carriageway, an inflated and unpracticable plan which caused much amusement in Whitehall.
It IS the delays caused by the objectors that has increased the cost.If it had been built 10years ago it would have cost less than half the current estimate.Still expensive but Weymouth may have by now been a thriving town and not one on the brink with over 20 empty shops in the town.Unless it's built we will be the laughing stock of the world when the olympic's arrive.I'm sure visitors will be overjoyed when it takes them over an hour to get from Chafeys rounabout to top of the ridgeway,as it did me last saturday.The greenies need to remember that less polution is caused by steady moving traffic than stationary vehicles.
Alan Barrington, says...
11:32am Thu 21 Aug 08
nige, dorchester says...
5:37pm Thu 21 Aug 08
Leo, weymouth says...
8:33pm Thu 21 Aug 08
nige, dorchester says...
9:00pm Thu 21 Aug 08
swibley, weymouth says...
12:38pm Sat 23 Aug 08
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derek, dorset says...
8:49am Wed 20 Aug 08
We need new films :-
The relief road
The revenge of the relief road.
Relief road strikes back.
Given the current fuel problems , it should be cancelled and the money for a more suitable from of transport .
Why invest in a dinosaur. The days of the motor car are numbered.