Ipswich Road Colchester scheme was £2.5 million over budget

Officials estimated the major project which transformed the A133 Ipswich Road and Harwich Road roundabouts in Colchester would cost £6,036,363.

But the scheme ended up costing the taxpayer £8,459,718 after it overran by almost two years, finishing in September 2021, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.

Works first started in September 2018 and were originally scheduled to take 15 months but ended up taking three years.

Controversial - the scheme caused traffic chaos while underway (Image: Newsquest)

The new look roundabouts have been in use since the end of March 2021, with the extra complications taking a further five months to resolve.

Essex Highways said the pandemic and unanticipated works to Cowdray Bridge and the Waitrose wall all contributed to delays and extra costs.

St Anne’s and St John’s councillor Paul Smith said the project was a “bad investment” from the start.

“This is a project that right from the very start we were very critical of,” he said.

New look - the new Ipswich Road roundabout layout opened in March 2021

In use - the Ipswich Road roundabout (Image: Newsquest)

“We never saw an economic justification for spending that sort or money for something that was only going to improve the travel time by about a minute or so.

“It seemed a bad investment, the design is horribly flawed.

“The lack of provision for cyclists runs contrary to everything we are trying to do to shift people away from cars.”

Mr Smith branded the scheme a failure, adding: “The traffic congestion certainly hasn’t improved and the situation for cyclists in particular is considerably worse.”

Critical - St Anne's and St John's councillor Paul Smith (Image: Newsquest)

An Essex County Council spokesman said the works were essential to “alleviate growing congestion," improve transport access and support economic growth in Colchester.

He said: “During the works, the scheme encountered a number of complications, which had to be overcome and additional works had to be instructed.

“These impacted on the duration and the cost of the works on. These factors meant the final cost of the works exceeded the original initial project cost.

“We took the additional time to ensure these issues were put right as the safety of all road users is our ultimate priority, and we would like to thank the residents of Colchester for their patience.”