Liverpool Council faces paying £675,000 to finish roadworks schemes left unfinished when a key contractor collapsed.
VIAM, formerly known as King Construction, was one of the council’s preferred contractors when it plunged into administration earlier this year after cashflow problems.
That left five road improvement projects across the city unfinished, with the council forced to appoint new contractors quickly to finish the projects to prevent risks to motorists.
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Council workers have since found “defects” in some of the projects, with the new contractors set to rectify them.
The schemes, which were at different stages of completion, were:
- Byrom Street
- Walton Lane
- County Road – A59
- Kingsley Road
- A565 – North Liverpool key corridor
A report to the council’s climate change and environment select committee said there is now just over £675,000 in additional costs to finish two of the schemes.
The report said: “To cover estimated additional costs against the VIAM schemes, £357,773.04 may need to be allocated to Byrom St and 320,279.45 to Walton Lane.
“The additional spending on these schemes will be accommodated within the Highways Investment Programme available budget.”
The report said the highways team also “identified some defects with the works previously delivered by VIAM that will need to be rectified by the replacement contractor”.
Officers said that the newly appointed contractors will carry out surveys to ensure all the defects are addressed.
The projects are at different stages.
The Walton Hall traffic light works are now complete, while the Kingsley Road project is set to finish in mid-November.
Further work on Walton Lane, the A59, Byrom Street and North Liverpool Key Corridor are set to be finished by early next year.
Liverpool Council’s climate change and environment select committee will discuss the report next Tuesday.
