A final report on the costs of the N56 Four Lane Road in Letterkenny has revealed that the initial €10.9m construction cost agreed in 2021 has jumped by 47% to €5.1m to a final figure of €16m that was signed off on earlier this year. At Tuesday’s Municipal District meeting Cllr Ciaran Brogan received an updated report on the Four-Lane project where he sought answers on the total money spent and what plans were being made to implement or improve access for the emergency services? Cllr Brogan was told that all remaining construction snags/defects were closed earlier this year and this has enabled a report on the costs to be completed. The Council said in their response that the project cost outturn includes the Government Inflation/supply chain delay co-operation payment, Independent Conciliation award on claims and time resulting in a final figure of €16m inclusive of VAT. There has therefore been a 47% increase from the pre-construction scheme budget of €10.9m. The Council reply to Cllr Brogan stated: “Given the complexities of the contract and the large number of external factors directly and significantly impacting both progress and costs, we believe this to be a satisfactory outcome. All contract costs including conciliation award have been independently assessed.
