A MAJOR roads project in Letterkenny could be €3.5 million over budget by the time it is completed.
At Monday’s budget meeting of Letterkenny-Milford Municipal District, Cllr Ciaran Brogan raised questions about the cost of the Four Lane road project.
He said he had heard a figure of €10 million which is a dramatic increase in costs from the initial price tag of €6.5m.
In March of this year it emerged that roadworks being carried out on Four Lane project were no longer on schedule.
The project, which will upgrade the stretch between the Polestar and the Dry Arch Roundabouts, was expected to finish in August.
The deadline was extended to last month but remains unmet. It is now not envisaged that overall works will be completed until March 2023 – seven months behind schedule.
The road project has faced major setbacks including Covid-19, national and international supply issues and the rising rates of inflation.
The Council confirmed that work to the inbound carriageway is near completion while the project is on track to be substantially completed by the end of March 2023.
At the budget meeting, Cllr Donal ‘Mandy’ Kelly criticised how long the project is taking.
He said it is ridiculous that it is taking so long to complete 1.4km of road.
Cllr Kelly said he had also heard the figure of €10m as the total cost of the scheme.
He said he firmly believes the money should have been spent on a bridge over the River Swilly to alleviate the traffic in the town.
He reiterated those concerns at a meeting of the Letterkenny-Milford MD later that afternoon.
Councillors are to attend a meeting on the Four Lane project on November 4 at 2pm.
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