Bad weather and scale of work to blame for route delays, says councillor.
Milton Keynes City Council has explained the reasons for the long delays in re-opening an important link road near Milton Keynes.
This week MKFM told how a 500-day closure of the A509 section of road which leads from Newport Pagnell to junction 14 of the M1 motorway has brought prolonged misery to commuters while affecting shops and businesses in the area.
MKCC councillors discovered recently that a timetable for the route’s re-opening was still not available despite an overrun of more than 120 days in construction work.
Now Councillor Akash Nayee has told MKFM that bad weather and the sheer extent of the MK East project’s work is to blame for the hold-up.
“Unfortunately, because of the severe weather conditions since the project started there have been some delays to the works,” said the Cabinet Member for Public Realm.
“The A509 works are part of over £500 million of infrastructure improvements taking place to help enable the MK East development including new schools, a new health centre and a community centre, alongside works that will help better manage water and flooding in the local area.
“We sympathise with local people on the inconvenience the works have caused and we are continuing to work, through the council, with the developers to ensure everything is being done as quickly as possible,” he added.
“For example, in this instance, we did not agree to the whole amount of additional time the developer requested and only permitted a three month extension as we recognise the impact on residents.
“The delay is very unfortunate but given the scale and complexity of the project, alongside the weather challenges, completing such a major scheme even in the timescale involved, and on budget, is a huge achievement.”
