Road project cost concerns
THERE are concerns that poor preparation and “over-engineering” could increase the cost and disruption of dualling the last single-carriageway section of the A465, between Dowlais and Hirwaun.
THERE are concerns that poor preparation and “over-engineering” could increase the cost and disruption of Wales’ biggest road scheme.
Some of the geological survey work for dualling the last single-carriageway section of the A465, between Dowlais and Hirwaun, was not carried out until last autumn, more than a year after procurement of contractors began. In at least one case, exploratory drilling has been postponed until construction is under way.
The scheme will follow dualling of the same road between Gilwern and Brynmawr – where unforeseen engineering difficulties have increased the cost and prolonged the disruptive roadworks.
However, the Welsh Government says that lessons from that scheme have been applied to the new scheme, and that the recent drilling was to supplement information from previous boreholes.
The government expects dualling of the Heads of the Valleys road west of Dowlais to be completed in phases from 2022-23 onwards. The construction cost – estimated at over £500m when VAT is included – will be covered by private finance, repaid by the government in annual service payments over 30 years.
The level of annual payments will reflect, among other things, any risk of unforeseen engineering challenges.
Procurement of the contractor is now close to completion. It began in July 2018, but it was not until September 2019 that engineering consultants acting for the government contacted householder Michael Burke, who lives near the A465, for permission to drill an exploratory borehole on his land.
Subsequently, the road scheme’s ecological advisers said the drilling should not take place in autumn to avoid disturbing wildlife.
The consultants explained: “We will not be drilling the borehole on your land due to ecological constraints; this borehole will be picked up during the main construction works phase.”
Mr Burke said he had already formed the impression the scheme was poorly prepared from attending the public inquiry last year and his previous dealings with officials. Now he fears the scheme could repeat some of the problems encountered on the Gilwern to Brynmawr section.
“Everybody accepts that it [Gilwern to Brynmawr] is a classic case of incompetence,” he said. “It’s dramatically over budget. If they had done the ground investigations properly, they would have known what they were coming up against.”
He thought that obtaining a detailed understanding of the geology along the Dowlais to Hirwaun route would have been important because the area was riddled with caves and underground watercourses.
Graham Thomas, county councillor for Rhigos, supports the principle of dualling the road on safety grounds, but objected during public consultation to the layout of the proposed new junction between the A465 and various local roads at Croesbychan.
The original plans had shown four roundabouts clustered around the junction, which would have taken up excessive land, Mr Thomas believes.
“That was an overengineered solution,” he said. “They came down to the present situation where we [will] have three roundabouts. We said it should be two roundabouts. We failed on that one.”
He said the A465 had been closed at night over two months in the autumn for borehole drilling.
He hoped that the engineers understood the conditions by now. “If they don’t, it’s getting rather late in the procedures,” he said.
A government spokesman said extensive boreholes were drilled in the 1990s and 2015, providing information for bidding organisations before procurement started.
“The recent ground investigation contract scope was developed with detailed input from all three bidders to ensure their individual borehole requirements and priorities were included.
“Bids for the project will not be compromised by a lack of geological data.
“Ground condition risk rests with the bidders under the terms of the contract.
“It is important bidders understand the nature of the ground conditions to enable them to accurately price that risk.”
Asked why at least one borehole was postponed until construction, he said: “Every effort has been made to complete the entire scope of ground investigations.
“All the priority areas identified by bidders have been completed and some further non-priority areas will be completed prior to construction, as the constraints allow.”
Regarding changes to the Croesbychan junction layout after local criticism, he said the arrangements were developed in conjunction with the local authority and “adjusted following considerations at the public inquiry”.
He said lessons learned from the Gilwern to Brynmawr section had been incorporated in the Dowlais to Hirwaun procurement, where the contract would include strict restrictions on traffic management during construction.
The procurement had used “competitive dialogue”, where bidders discussed “value engineering” opportunities.