Mott MacDonald faces legal action over £5.3 highways contract

Portsmouth City Council is considering taking action against consultant Mott MacDonald over its handling of a £5.3m highways contract in the Hampshire city.

The eight-month project, which involves the replacement of a major roundabout and the introduction of new junction improvements and traffic control systems, is already running four months late with the possibility of further delays.

The total cost for the overruns is rumoured to be between £5.3m to £7m.

The council was unable to confirm the amount, although it revealed that the project was 80% completed.

Mott MacDonald, which was appointed in February this year to project manage and design the contract, has been blamed by the council for a series of problems during construction work carried out by contractor Dyer & Butler.

These include: the discovery of an unmapped amenity tip and uncharted utilities which needed to be diverted or removed; a number of extra items added into the construction work; the extraction of Japanese knotweed; and a drainage ditch which needed to be replaced.

The council's engineer Peter King said that the council was still waiting for a full report into the delays by Mott MacDonald before further action would be considered.

However, he confirmed that the project would inevitably run over budget.

Mott MacDonald has been unavailable for comment.