New setback for motorists as works on King’s Dyke Level Crossing flyover delayed yet again

The long awaited scheme to end the frustrating delays at the crossing for motorists travelling between Peterborough and Whittlesey has seen its costs balloon from an original budget of £13.6 million to nearly £39 million.

The escalating costs led to Cambridgeshire County Council ending its contract with Kier to deliver the road and bridge over the rail line and put it out to tender again - a process which is currently ongoing.

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority had agreed a bail out of around £16.4 million when the cost of the scheme originally escalated from £13.6 million to around £30 million, only for the project’s budget to then rise by another £8.7 million.

Members of the mayoral authority’s board were told by project manager Brian Stewart on Wednesday the new delay to the project, which was originally due to be finished in late 2017/early 2018, “will allow for the formalisation of funding agreements that are vital to give confidence to any future procurement tenders.

“The county council needs to be able to demonstrate to those bidding for the construction work that the funding is in place, without which the procurement exercise would be severely prejudiced. This requires a funding agreement between the combined authority and the county council which includes the revised timeline for completion of the scheme.

“Today we are asking for the board’s agreement to the revised timeline which is necessary for that funding agreement to be completed. Any difficulties in letting these contracts would risk extending the completion date even further, prolonging the agonies being experienced by those using the existing King’s Dyke Level Crossing.”

Currently, residents travelling between Peterborough and Whittlesey get held up frequently at the level crossing, with the problems made worse when North Bank and the B1040 are closed due to a flood risk.

New homes being built near the level crossing, and an increase in trains using the rail line, will only make the problem worse. 

Leader of Peterborough City Council, Cllr John Holdich, said: “We need to get this done as soon as possible because there is no doubt that these hold-ups are affecting the economy of the city of Peterborough and making the lives of those who use this crossing a complete misery.

“We should’ve had this done a long time ago, but we now find ourselves in the embarrassing position of having – once again – to extend the completion date of the A605 King’s Dyke Level Crossing closure from the end of 2020 to late 2022.

“I know that this will come as a huge disappointment to all those who use the crossing, to the people in the city of Peterborough and to those who live and work in Whittlesey, but if this is the only sure way that we can achieve our aims to improve this stretch of road then I support it and urge my fellow board members to do likewise.”

Members of the board approved the revised timeline.

If a contractor can be found it is hoped that commencement of the work could begin in December, with completion at the end of 2022.

Robert Alexander, Local Democracy Reporting Service