Merthyr council's £500k bridge and wall repairs overspend

Merthyr Tydfil councillors will discuss the overspend at a meeting on Monday

Two council projects "beset by inaccuracies" saw them run over budget by almost £500,000, a report has said.

Work to rebuild Brandy Bridge in Merthyr Tydfil was due to finish in October, but repairs cost an extra £313,000, taking the cost to £810,000.

Rebuilding a Pontygwaith highway wall cost £176,000 more than expected and the overspend was called "disturbing".

Merthyr Tydfil council said lessons had been learned and a report into the issues would be discussed on Monday.

In the report, an email from cabinet member for finance Andrew Barry said he was particularly concerned about the handling of the Pontygwaith project.

"The overspend is as a result of inaccurate information being held on the existing wall, which led to changes in the design and method of construction on more than one occasion as unforeseen problems occurred," he said.

'Simply not affordable'

Mr Barry said the estimated rock depth was inaccurate, so more material was needed and scaffolding costs also increased.

Both projects appeared "beset by inaccuracies in the information provided, problems with design and construction methods, unforeseen problems and apparently plain bad luck," he added.

Brandy Bridge was built in 1967 and is the only road bridge serving the village of Abercanaid.

Repair work started in July which is when it became clear the bridge piers were in far worse condition than previously envisaged, so the completion date has been pushed back to February.

"Overspends of this magnitude are simply not affordable from any perspective. I am told we have learned lessons," Mr Barry said in his email.

Both projects will be analysed to establish what went wrong and to determine the root cause of both overspends.