THE cost of the present widening the M1 motorway between Junctions 6a and 9 has soared to nearly £300 million. The original estimate from the Department for Transport (DfT) was that the project which is due to finish at the end of this year would cost £24

THE cost of the present widening the M1 motorway between Junctions 6a and 9 has soared to nearly £300 million.

The original estimate from the Department for Transport (DfT) was that the project which is due to finish at the end of this year would cost £241 million but it has now risen to £290 million.

A spokesperson for the DfT said that in part the increase was due to the high rate of inflation in the industrial sector which was standing at roughly twice the rate of the Retail Price Index.

A report by management consultant Mike Nichols on road construction last year, which highlighted the likely £49-million hike in the cost, also found that the DfT carried out its estimates too early.

As a result the costs of the project were always expected to rise during the construction period.