Bus project budget will be driven up by millions
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Some Dublin residents are unhappy about compulsory purchases Locals are mobilising against scheme
YESTERDAY
THE cost of the Bus Connects project in the capital is set to run tens of millions over budget before it starts.
This is because the National Transport Authority believes the touted figure of €22million for Compulsory Purchase Orders is only an “indicative” figure.
One of the stakeholders at a meeting earlier this week said this means it would end up being “multiples”.
Labour Senator Kevin Humphreys said this has not been contested by anybody.
The controversial bus corridors project is being rolled out in Dublin over the coming months and years, with a nationwide expansion for the network of bus corridors and cycle lanes.
But the project will require some houses on the route losing some of their front gardens and yards taken through CPO to make room for the wider roads.
But local opposition to the plan is growing with placards saying “Communities Not Corridors” around Dublin.
After Mr Humphreys attended a protest meeting in Kimmage this week, he fears costs could get out of control.
He said: “We need to be really careful with this massive, crucial piece of infrastructure. I have heard the NTA say that the cost for CPOS estimated at being in the region of €22million is only an ‘indicative’ figure.
“That is extremely worrying and not good enough.
“The reason is clear, we’ve only just seen how projects being managed by this Government can run massively over budget.
“I’m talking of course about the National Children’s Hospital debacle.
“We know from experience that the real figure for the CPOS for Bus Connects could end up being multiples of €22million – that’s just obvious.
“We need to grab this by the scruff of the neck from the start, or else it could end up becoming, in scale and parallel, another mess like the children’s hospital.”
A spokesman for the NTA said it hasn’t calculated the full bill.
He told the Mirror: “The figure mentioned was very much a preliminary one.
“The final cost will rely on the precise details of each scheme.
“Some corridors may require more property acquisition and some may require less than was initially thought.
“That will become clearer when more detailed plans are produced after the consultation process concludes.”
We’ve seen how projects run by this Government can run over budget SENATOR KEVIN HUMPHREYS