M11 Link costs up to £69 million/km

by Paul Donovan



The cost of completing the M11 Link Road in east London has risen by another £20 million to a staggering £69 million/km making it one of the most expensive roads constructed in the UK.

The first section of the four part road will open over the next week with the whole structure due to become operational in the autumn.

The total cost of the 5.5km stretch of dual carriageway is now set to top £380 million - a figure £210 million more than was originally projected in 1979.

When open the new road will bring 70,000 vehicles a day to the urban area of Wanstead almost doubling traffic volumes from the present level of 40,000 cars per day.

Terry Williams, Highways Agency project manager for the Link Road scheme, blamed the extra cost incurred on a combination of factors beyond his control.

"The £380 million cost was due to construction, the cost of acquiring the land, service diversions, the preparation and supervision done by WS Atkins and VAT," he said.

The project manager also claimed that extra equipment had been put into the 300 metre cover-and-cut tunnel that takes the road under the Central Green area of Wanstead and within two metres of the Central Line Underground tunnel.

The tunnel includes CCTV, carbon monoxide and traffic monitors, plus 6,760 lights that adjust their brightness according to the weather conditions outside.

The road surface is made up of stone mastic asphalt to reduce noise levels.