The budget for the long-awaited Kooringal Road refurbishment has blown out by almost $1 million and the work will be completed six months behind schedule.
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A report, to be tabled at next week's Wagga City Council meeting, has requested an additional $925,000 in funding be allocated to the project, citing extensive delays and construction woes among the reasons for the increased cost.
Staff have also proposed a new end date of December 31 for the final 800 metres of the 2.55km project, which will see the stretch of road between Mena Street and Vincent Road completed.
Councillor Rod Kendall said despite the extra price tag, finishing the roadworks must be made a priority.
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"We need to accept the fact that this road needs to be fixed, and we just need to get on with it," Cr Kendall said.
"Kooringal Road is one of the four major feeder roads heading into the CBD, it's a critical piece of infrastructure and it needs to be brought up to standard in the shortest amount of time with minimal inconvenience."
The project was initially due to be finished by early June after works commenced in April this year, with just over $2 million in grant funding allocated to the project.
According to the report, a major reason the budget fell short was that the project had no design when funding was initially allocated.
Staff also miscalculated the quality of the existing road pavement, which was low quality and subsequently discarded and replaced with new material at significant cost to ratepayers.
The additional funding will be sourced from a combination of unallocated funds and waste disposal charges, with $109,000 to come out of state funding for a $257,393 upgrade of Stanley Street.
In July, the council confirmed wet weather had further delayed the project, apologising to the community for the wait.
The upgrade was a source of controversy among residents of Kooringal Road, for whom access was cut off during the initial works and the extensive delays. Ultimately, the project was suspended in July to resolve access issues while wet weather persisted.
At the time, the council's director of operations, Warren Faulkner, said when undertaking the construction, workers removed the weather-proof seal, and once the gravel became wet, it needed to dry before it could be resealed.
Cr Kendall said the initial decision to suspend work was a sound one given the faster drying time in spring months.
"I support the fact that the job was suspended," he said.
"I'm confident that restarting the job in late spring and going into early summer should ensure the job is done in the quickest time and at the least inconvenience because even if it does rain it will dry up quickly."
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