Cost of Ml Was £9m. Over Estimate
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RIG IN ALLY estimated to cost £12.5m. in 1955, the Mt finally involved a sum of £21.5m. The Preston motorway, first thought to cost £2.5m., entailed expenditure of £4.5m._ These facts were reported to Parliament on Tuesday by the Auditor-General. The Ministry of Transport, it was explained, had admitted that the new roads cost much more than expected, and were considering changing their arrangements with consulting engineers to prevent a recurrence of situations of this kind. The Treasury had called for an examination of the control of direct contracts. Our political correspondent says, that the question arising from the Auditor-Generals revelations is whether excessively cautious accounting will delay future motorway construction.
The contribution of the autobahnen to road haulage will be studied by a group of Tory and Labour M.P.s who will visit Western Germany from March 14-25. They will also discuss the financing of the State railways with the Western German Government.