Road building projects get into gear as costs fall

MAJOR roads projects should be delivered quicker and cheaper because of a nationwide slow-down in other construction projects, the National Roads Authority said yesterday.

Quotes being given for projects out to tender are becoming a lot more realistic according to National Roads Authority chief executive Michael Tobin.

His comments came yesterday as Environment Minister Martin Cullen signed the order clearing the way for works on the long-awaited second river crossing in Waterford.

The cost of the project was initially put at €15 million and was included in the city’s 1973 development plan. Almost 30 years on, the price of its construction has risen to €340 million and will include a half-km long bridge, 23km of dual carriageway, 4km of single carriageway and an additional 11km in tie-ins, as well as a 2km railway realignment near the Western Link Junction in the city.

Mr Tobin said the original project was far more basic than the one about to get underway.

“The original proposal was for a high level bridge close to the existing one. But we are now talking about shifting the railway, etc. We also have to remember that €15 million was a lot of money back in the early 1970s,” he said.

Projects which would previously have taken up to seven years to progress from planning to construction were getting underway in half the time. And completion times were also being boosted, he said.

“One of the major problems with the National Development Plan was that in 1999 we had 15% inflation in the construction sector. That was at the same level in 2000, it fell to 10% in 2001 and to 5% last year.”

Work on the long-awaited by-pass and second bridge crossing over the river Suir, linking Gracedieu in Waterford and Granny in Co Kilkenny, is expected to begin towards the end of this year, Environment Minister Martin Cullen said yesterday.

“As we know, Waterford is one of nine gateways identified in the National Spatial Strategy. The provision of a second river Suir crossing will be an important factor in delivering key aims of the strategy for the south east region.”