Local authorities could bear the brunt of costs when their major road schemes go over budget. Recently-released Department for Transport (DfT) documents revealed costs on 51 road building and upgrade projects managed by councils had gone over estimated budget from £1.33bn to just over £2bn. The DfT has warned it will expect councils in future to pay up to 100% of any overspend if it has not been agreed with ministers. A DfT spokeswoman said: ‘Local authorities are responsible for preparing cost estimates when bidding to the Department for local major transport schemes. ‘The Department now requires local authorities to agree to contribute a minimum of 10% towards the estimated total scheme cost, 50% of any increase up to an ‘approved scheme cost' figure, and 100% of any increase above that figure.' She added funding for older road schemes which go over budget will be considered by ministers on a case-by-case basis. An LGA spokesman said: ‘Councils, like everybody else, are feeling the impact of rising costs. It's estimated that the price of asphalt has gone up by as much as 50% because of surging fuel prices. It is not surprising that these pressures may have an impact on the cost of building new roads.'
