A FIVE-mile motorway extension in Glasgow is expected to become Britain's most expensive road after its cost rocketed to £657 million – or £2,000 an inch.
'It stinks' say protesters but business and civic leaders hail 'crucial' boost
Ministers admit the controversial M74 link, which was given the final go-ahead yesterday, will cost some 50 per cent more than previous estimates due to delays and inflation. The six-lane road is expected to cost £131 million a mile – compared with £79 million a mile for Britain's next-biggest road scheme, widening the M25 round London.
The news comes a week after The Scotsman reported fears that the cost had soared, as the latest deadline for agreeing the contract for the road was missed.
Business leaders welcomed the long-awaited deal for construction to start, but environmental campaigners said the project would be disastrous.
Work is expected to begin in May on extending the motorway from south-east Glasgow to the Kingston Bridge, creating a short-cut for through traffic and taking 20,000 vehicles a day off the M8.
Click here to download detailed map of M74 routeHowever, it is due to be finished three years later than planned, in 2011, and it still faces the threat of an investigation by the European Commission over government officials' handling of the contract. The Greens have filed a complaint over two contracts being combined and several potential rival companies combining as a single consortium to lodge the sole bid for the work.
Rebecca Lush Blum, from the Campaign for Better Transport, said: "The M74 is the most expensive road per mile in Britain – a colossal waste of £650 million. This road stinks – both the suspect letting of the contract and the extra pollution caused.
"The public inquiry reporter concluded the claimed benefits were highly dubious, and that it will just increase carbon emissions and pollution at a time when we should be doing all we can to reduce them."
She said there was no formula for calculating how fast the road would fill up with traffic, but assessments of several English schemes showed far faster growth than projected – the so-called "M25 effect", which was coined after it was demonstrated in a report by the government's own advisers in 1994.
Duncan McLaren, the chief executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: "It's sad that the government is going ahead with this disastrous road."
But some transport experts said it was still worth the money. Dr Jon Shaw, the director of the Centre for Sustainable Transport at Plymouth University, said: "Even with this figure, the benefit-cost ratio is hugely positive. Sometimes new infrastructure on this scale is warranted – simple as that."
However, Dr David Gray, of Aberdeen University, said the cost was nearly 60 times the Scottish Government's annual budget for supporting sustainable and active travel – its primary policy for tackling climate change emissions from transport.
Iain McMillan, the director of CBI Scotland, welcomed the go-ahead for the road, which followed his organisation's long campaign for such a "crucial" project. He said: "The completion of the M74 will ensure that west central Scotland's connectivity is enhanced, whilst alleviating the pressure on the busiest stretch of the M8 motorway through Glasgow."
Dr Lesley Sawers, the chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, said it was "great news" but added it was imperative that construction started as soon as possible. She said: "A decision on the M74 is long overdue and we are pleased that the Scottish Government has listened and responded to the case put forward by business and given the project the go-ahead."
Two years ago, the former Scottish Executive decided to press ahead with the scheme against the advice of the conclusions of a public inquiry.
Environmental groups challenged the decision at the Court of Session, but abandoned the case because of the likely costs of losing. That legal move and subsequent delay has added at least £20 million to the project.
The scheme, which has been on ice since an initial section was finished in 1994, was estimated at £240 million in 2001 but increased the next year to between £375 million and £500 million, partly because more contaminated land than expected was found. Yesterday's further increase to £657 million is 50 per cent more than the mid-range of the previous estimate.
The Scottish Government's Transport Scotland agency, which is in charge of the project, said any further cost increase would be paid for by the construction consortium.
A spokesman said: "As with other design-and-build contracts, the construction price is fixed and the contractor would bear the construction risk."
A deal with the Interlink M74 consortium should have been completed a week ago, but the formal contract signing is now expected in the next two weeks.
The spokesman said the previous £375-£500 million estimate was based on prices for 2008, when the road was due to be finished; the new figure reflected 2011 prices. He said: "It is clear there is significant inflation in the construction market. Likely causes are, among other things, price of materials, oil and the influence of the London Olympics in 2012."
He added that construction industry inflation was 6 per cent.
The road will mean some 15 acres of wildlife habitats being lost, but they are not protected sites.
Builders will aim to minimise disturbance of contaminated land from old factories, containing the likes of chromium and heavy metals. Such areas will be sealed off and contaminated groundwater treated. Old mine workings along the route will be filled by pumping cement-type material through boreholes to seal and stabilise them.
Stewart Stevenson, the transport minister, said: "This government has always been committed to the M74 project.
"Following an internal review of the procurement processes, the government is confident that the procedures are robust.
"The bid achieves value for money and I am determined to ensure that there is robust management of this scheme in order to protect the public purse."
Steven Purcell, the leader of Glasgow City Council, said: "This is tremendous news for jobs, for commuters and for the 2014 Commonwealth Games."
Alan Wilson, the chief executive of the Scottish Council for Development and Industry, said: "This is great news for the West of Scotland economy, with the completion of the motorway network's 'missing link' promising to open up development in some of the most deprived parts of the country."
THE PROS Cut congestion/ journey times
Regenerate south- east Glasgow
Improve access for 2014 Commonwealth Games
Reduce accidents
Create jobs
Improve air quality in city centre
Clean up contaminated land
Reduce road noise
THE CONSGenerate more traffic
Increase carbon emissions
Harm environment
Damage health
Public-transport alternatives not considered
"Socially inequitable" use of public funds
Jobs moved rather than created Communities severed
WHAT YOU COULD GET FOR £657 MILLION ONE
Mona Lisa, which is insured for about the same amount.
THREE
Major hospitals – Edinburgh Royal Infirmary cost £ 184 million.
20
New secondary schools at £ 30 million each.
