The cost of building the Lincoln Eastern Bypass has risen by £24 million to £120m, Lincolnshire County Council has confirmed.

Galliford Try has been appointed to takeover works on the scheme after previous contractor, Carillion, collapsed into compulsory liquidation in January.

The project, which was originally valued at £96m, is also now estimated to be complete in May 2020, six months later than originally planned.

Cllr Richard Davies, Executive Member for Highways, said: "Following the appointment of Galliford Try earlier this year for the first package of Eastern Bypass construction works, we're pleased to announce they will also be carrying out the remainder of the project.

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"Since taking over from Carillion, Galliford has made great progress on-site, so we're excited to continue building this relationship as they oversee all of the milestones to come, including the construction of four new roundabouts, two major bridges and 7.5km of new road.

"There are always unknowns when taking on a project of this scale, but we now have a much clearer picture of where the project stands. At this stage, the total cost of the project is now expected to be £120m, with about half the new costs coming as a result of changing contractor and the remainder from additional archaeological spend, additional land acquisition costs and inflation.

"Also, another outcome of Carillion's collapse is that the scheme's new expected completion date is May 2020.

"We know this isn't ideal, as were hoping for the bypass to be open in December 2019, but we have done all we can to keep the project moving in the right direction. By exploring all options and focusing our efforts on getting the best value for money, we've been able to keep the time delay to a minimum, despite the situation we were cast into."

(LM)