Author Description

This NAO report examines how the costs of building and improving roads are estimated and monitored from early forecasts through to the final cost of schemes. The Department for Transport has approved expenditure of over £11 billion between 1998 and 2021 for the development of new and existing trunk roads and motorways by the Highways Agency, and just under £1.7 billion on major road schemes proposed and developed by local authorities in five year Local Transport Plans. The report finds that robust estimating is a key factor in delivering value for money from road schemes but represents a difficult and challenging task given the timescale of major road projects and the number of potential variables, some of which are outside of the direct control of the Agency and local authorities, such as the outcomes of public inquiries and construction inflation. It recognises the work being undertaken to improve the Agency's estimating processes, and the Department's review of proposals put forward by local authorities. However, there is scope for further improvements, for example to improve the evaluation of completed schemes and examine costs against budget and the scheme's progress against timetable so that they have better information to prepare estimates, and improving how the Department and the Agency work together by better sharing of lessons learned with each other and local authorities.