Despite being nearly three kilometres shorter than the Berry bypass, the planned Albion Park Rail bypass is costing taxpayers $50 million more.
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It’s also shorter but more expensive than the Berry to Bomaderry stage of the Princes Highway upgrade.
But a Roads and Maritime Services spokesman said a “cost per kilometre” assessment of road projects did not offer a compete picture of what went into their construction.
The bill for the 12.5-kilometre Foxground and Berry bypass – the second stage of the Princes Highway upgrade – came to $580 million.
That upgrade, which created four lanes, also involved building 12 bridges.
By comparison, the Albion Park Rail bypass is 2.7 kilometres shorter but at this stage is calculated to cost $630 million.
The project will include the construction of 13 bridges.
That’s $50 million more than the Berry bypass and $80 million more than the Albion Park Rail project was budgeted for when funding was announced in 2015.
The Berry to Bomaderry stage of the Princes Highway is also longer at 10.5 kilometres – and features 11 bridges - yet it will cost substantially less than the shorter Albion Park Rail bypass.
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RMS has priced that project at $450 million – that means it’s nearly $200 million cheaper than the Albion Park Rail Bypass.
However, an RMS spokesman said a simple comparison of “cost per kilometre” was not an accurate way to assess road projects.
“The features and constraints for each project are different, so a simple cost per kilometre comparison of different projects is misleading,” the spokesman said.
“Roads and Maritime Services will continue to deliver the project in a cost-effective and efficient way.”
The spokesman also claimed there was nothing unusual in the $80 million cost increase for the Albion Park Rail bypass.
“Design refinements and reassessment of project costs are part of the normal process that a project undergoes as it progresses to the construction phase,” he said.
Meanwhile, work on the Berry to Bomaderry phase of the Princes Highway upgrade will pause on December 21 and resume on January 5.
The pause is part of a long-running strategy to reduce traffic delays along the highway during peak holiday periods.
The news comes as the government announced an extra $5.3 million to deal with noise from the Berry bypass.
Residents in and around Berry have complained about the increase in noise since the bypass was finished.
While an assessment of the noise levels found the mitigation measures in place were performing as expected, Kiama MP Gareth Ward has requested RMS look to improve things at the southern end of the Berry township.