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Berk wrote:Looks impressive. Is it only this section which is having a 50 limit on it??
I think so. The rest seems to be 60mph or NSL.
"I see the face of a child. He lives in a great city. He is black. Or he is white. He is Mexican, Italian, Polish. None of that matters. What matters, he's an American child"
- Richard Nixon
Also.... The Gilwern GSJ seems to be preparing for traffic (maybe being hopeful!) ...and I expect I could find out if I read up on it...... but its (a465) being closed again on the 8th and again on the 12th of December and I'm hopeful it coudl be for this.
Note...odd they are putting in metal barriers over the bridge instead of concrete.
AAndy wrote:Also.... The Gilwern GSJ seems to be preparing for traffic (maybe being hopeful!) ...and I expect I could find out if I read up on it...... but its (a465) being closed again on the 8th and again on the 12th of December and I'm hopeful it coudl be for this.
There's still a 50m gap (east of the two new bridges) where the highway hasn't been completed, so the flyover opening won't be for a while.
The gap is as a result of a water main that runs transversely through the embankment - the short story being that it's been a long legal process to come up with a design solution that client(s) and contractor(s) will all accept as the water main and the embankment weren't quite as expected.
The utility company will want unfettered access to the main and if it crosses an embankment then there could well be a long argument about that.
The other consideration is of course the cost of diverting it if that is needed. Not cheap and potentially not covered by the scheme budget if the utility plans (likely) differed from reality.
Bryn Terminally cynical, unimpressed, and nearly Middle Age already. She said life was like a motorway; dull, grey, and long.
Berk wrote:I assumed this is the sort of thing checked when surveys are done?? After a contract has been awarded, for example.
Though as you say, not everyone’s plans are up-to-date.
It's very common to come across utilities where you don't expect them, or to not find them when you have been told they are there (I've worked a fair bit with fibre delivery and it's a pain, especially in pre-'60s streets). What old records there were have had to content with time, privatisation, and digitalisation - and many got lost in one of those.
Berk wrote:I assumed this is the sort of thing checked when surveys are done?? After a contract has been awarded, for example.
Though as you say, not everyone’s plans are up-to-date.
It's very common to come across utilities where you don't expect them, or to not find them when you have been told they are there (I've worked a fair bit with fibre delivery and it's a pain, especially in pre-'60s streets). What old records there were have had to content with time, privatisation, and digitalisation - and many got lost in one of those.
Another factor in the Valleys is industrial development and how the various nationalised industries kept their records (or didn't)
A project to make the A465 a dual carriageway between Gilwern and Brynmawr is almost £51m over budget, the Welsh Government has said.
Ministers are in dispute with the contractor upgrading the road, Costain, in an effort to pay the firm only what it is contractually entitled to.
Completion of the section is now delayed until the autumn of 2019.
The announcement by Economy Secretary Ken Skates follows a review of the project, originally budgeted at £220m.
According to Mr Skates Costain has found the project - which involves widening the Heads of the Valleys ROad through the Clydach Gorge - "far more difficult to deliver than they originally envisaged" due to the "topography" and "complex ground conditions".
Mr Skates said: "The scheme is currently projected to be delivered 23% over the approved budget.
"I am very disappointed by this but my officials are actively managing this overspend to identify ways of mitigating the project position.
"As part of this work, Welsh Government is currently in dispute with Costain on a number of matters around the allocation of risk in the contract to ensure they are only paid what they are contractually entitled to.
"I understand that this news will be concerning for those living and working in the area and I am very grateful for their continued patience and understanding while we deliver the scheme."
Welsh Government put the cash cost of the overspend at £50.83m.
'Deeply disappointing'
The Welsh Conservatives called for clarity over how the overspend would be paid for, and when the scheme would be finished.
"These delays could cost in the region of £50m, and the Cabinet Secretary needs to clarify where the money is coming from," said Welsh Tory leader Andrew RT Davies.
"We have been raising concerns over this scheme for many months, and it's deeply disappointing to see the project slipping so far beyond schedule."
A Welsh Government spokesman confirmed the projected overspend was £50.83m, adding: "The overspend on this project will be apportioned between Costain and Welsh Government strictly in accordance with the contract terms."
Bryn666 wrote:And again, why are they surprised? The original road was a nightmare to build so how would widening it be any different?
Politicians really do live on a different planet.
Well I'd probably say Costain are more in the fault here. They're the ones conducting the surveys and analysis of the terrain, etc.
Regardless of how small the budget was, an issue to WG would have been made a long time ago as soon as they were made aware of the problem. If Costain didnt know about the problem, well, that speaks for itself really.
It will be AGES until this is built now. I suspect a long and complicated case of contractual breach. The dispute will be very deep as to who is to blame and if it is indeed a common mistake. Extra large and emphasised sigh.
Bryn666 wrote:And again, why are they surprised? The original road was a nightmare to build so how would widening it be any different?
A road may be difficult and/or expensive to build or improve, but the project and budget should allow for that, within reason. Setting the project up on a 'best case' scenario and assuming that nothing will go wrong is foolish – especially when it is as complicated and challenging as the Heads of the Valleys is. There needs to be adequate contingency allowed to cover a reasonable amount of overrun and overspend bearing in mind the nature of the project.
I'm not saying that projects should never go over time or over budget, because there will always be some that do encounter more problems than could have been reasonably expected, but to be 25% over at this stage suggests that the original plans might have been unduly optimistic. Of course, that will depend what it is that has caused the overspend ... but if they are citing "topography and complex ground conditions", that doesn't sound like it is necessarily something unpredictable and unforeseeable.
Berk wrote:I assumed this is the sort of thing checked when surveys are done?? After a contract has been awarded, for example.
Though as you say, not everyone’s plans are up-to-date.
It's very common to come across utilities where you don't expect them, or to not find them when you have been told they are there (I've worked a fair bit with fibre delivery and it's a pain, especially in pre-'60s streets). What old records there were have had to content with time, privatisation, and digitalisation - and many got lost in one of those.
Another factor in the Valleys is industrial development and how the various nationalised industries kept their records (or didn't)
To clarify, the opening of the flyover has been delayed due to poor ground conditions in the eastern embankment of the flyover. The embankment was constructed by the contractor of Section 1 in the late 2000s and then the two major water mains serving Newport and large section of South East Wales diverted into this embankment at the same time (so that they could construct the Glanbaiden roundabout).
With the possibility of embankment settlement impacting on the water mains, Welsh Government/Welsh Water/Costain have had to find a solution to this - a protection slab will be constructed in the new year which should mean that the gap is completed by the summer.