Kennington Railway Bridge replacement project cost jumps to £90m

Inspections revealed repairs to the A423 Kennington Railway Bridge were no longer viable in 2019

The cost of a project which includes replacing a major bridge and will cause delays for more than two years has soared to £90m from £53m.

Oxfordshire County Council first said Kennington Railway Bridge needed to be replaced in 2019.

About 50,000 drivers use it each day as it carries the A423 over railway tracks.

The council's cabinet member for finance blamed previous "lapses" for the increase in anticipated cost.

The future work is expected to mean a contraflow system needs to be in place for about two years and four months, a council document said.

'Ridiculous'

A new eastbound lane for bus and traffic from Old Abingdon Road to Redbridge park-and-ride, new foot and cycle paths and work to help the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme have been added to the project since feasibility work was done in 2020.

The council hopes to meet the increased cost by receiving another £6m from Network Rail to ensure electric trains can pass under the bridge and a further £4m from the Flood Alleviation Scheme. It hopes to borrow £27.2m.

The council's website says work is due to start in 2023 and should be completed in 2026.

Liberal Democrat Calum Miller, who became cabinet member for finance in May, said his Conservative predecessor had failed to plan for "significant downside risk", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

The price hike will be caused by issues including inflation, construction delays, labour shortages and the impact of coronavirus, he said.

Former cabinet member for finance David Bartholomew told a scrutiny committee on Monday that Mr Miller's criticism was "ridiculous".

"When the previous administration was in power the almost universal expectation was that, as a result of Covid, a period of deflation and mass unemployment lay ahead," he said.