Bypass could be axed after costs triple to £36m
LDRSPlans for a new bypass could be axed after costs tripled to an estimated £36m.
The proposed A68 scheme near Toft Hill and High Etherley was first mooted after residents called for a bypass to reduce traffic and prevent large vehicles and HGVs from travelling through the villages.
Costs for the scheme, which was approved in 2021, were estimated at under £12m, but Durham County Council said escalating construction costs had led to it tripling, and it "no longer offers value for money".
"While we have to consider the potential not to progress with the scheme, we do understand the concerns of residents in Toft Hill about road safety in the village," councillor Tim McGuinness said.
Up to 7,500 vehicles travel along the A68 each day and concerns have been raised about congestion, noise, and air pollution.
Plans for the bypass were one of three schemes in the Bishop Auckland constituency to have benefited from £20m government levelling up cash, announced in 2021.
However, the county council said the impact of inflation on construction costs, and other financial pressures, meant the total cost of the project was estimated at up to £36.4m.
McGuinness said the council had "undertaken a significant amount of work to establish the best way forward for the bypass scheme".
LDRS"We have also identified that all potential routes for the bypass would require significant remedial works due to the area's historic coal mines.
"It is clear, therefore, that the project no longer offers value for money, so it is right that we give consideration to whether or not it should go ahead at this time," he added.
Members are being asked to either proceed with the next steps of the project and commit to covering the funding shortfall of at least £18.8m, including additional survey fees, or withdraw from the scheme.
If it does not go ahead, about £8.9m in funding would be retained for future use, with a further £750,000 allocated for road safety in Toft Hill regardless of the decision, according to the Local Democracy Service.
