THE cost of building a new bridge across the city’s River Severn has almost doubled, it has been revealed.

Worcestershire County Council said the budget for building the new Kepax walking and cycling bridge from Ghelvuelt Park in Worcester has now rocketed to almost £16 million – up from around £9 million two years ago.

The council blamed inflation and rising costs for the spiralling budget but says it will still be able to afford the bridge.

More than £5 million has already been set aside to pay for the bridge – including one million pounds from the government – and cabinet meets at County Hall next Thursday (September 22) to discuss the council’s plans on how it will stump up the remaining £11 million.

Worcester News:

Cllr Marc Bayliss, cabinet member for economy, infrastructure and skills, said: “The estimated cost to construct Kepax Bridge in 2019 did not include inflation, nor did it include some additional works such as improvements to Horsford Road or the ramp down to the Severn Way.

“Since 2019, there has been significant inflation in the construction industry, due to a number of factors, including major increases in fuel, energy, aggregate and steel costs which have been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine.

“There is a very detailed process required to award a major construction contract of this type.

“The time it has taken to award this contract has been driven by the process and has not been affected by the cost of the scheme.”

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The council has said it can pay for the bridge if it moves around some of the money in its existing budgets and makes big cuts – including important funds for maintaining roads and infrastructure – to its own capital spending.

The council said it would move around at least £5 million from its current capital budget to pay for the bulk of the hike.

The council said it would cut more than £570,000 from its road maintenance budget – which deals with resurfacing and refurbishing as well as streetlights and drainage – and almost £1.8 million from its ‘strategic infrastructure’ maintenance budget which could include solar farms, railway stations and waste disposal centres.

Worcester City Council has agreed to hand over more than £3 million to help pay for the bridge.

Cabinet papers warn the bridge could face more delays and its budget could swell even further if the council’s plans are not backed now but if approved, expects work to finally start in October.

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It has been almost a year since the council received planning permission for the bridge but little work so far carried out.

A decision was expected to be made last July but concerned councillors delayed a decision until they were reassured the bridge would link with walking and cycling routes.

The hold-up led worried council bosses to share “grave concerns” over the future of the bridge fearing the authority could lose out on millions of pounds of government funding.

The committee met again in September with the council left breathing a huge sigh of relief when the plan was eventually ushered through.