THE leader of Thurrock Council has spoken to senior local government colleagues about how the authority blundered its way through a calamitous, disastrously expensive and much-mocked local infrastructure project.

The council was the architect and driving force behind the project to widen the A13 between the Orsett Cock roundabout and the Manorway roundabout at Stanford-le-Hope.

It ended up costing almost double the anticipated cost and overran its timescale by years.

In April 2017 the initial cost estimate of the A13 widening project in Thurrock was around £80m. It was meant to be completed by Autumn 2020.

The project wasn't completed until 2022 with a cost, still to be confirmed, of around £148m. The final bill has been split between an almost £90m contribution from the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP), £8 million from Thurrock port operators DP World and a £50m contribution from Thurrock Council.

The huge cost increase has led to a review by SELEP to fully understand how the project significantly overran its original budget forecast and programme.

Thurrock Council has now listed key takeaways from lessons learnt – including that the project's original contract did not take into account the level of change and risk residing within the scope at the time of appointing the contractor and the project was lacking in areas at times in terms of governance and behaviours.

Click here to see 'The lessons learned' - What went wrong

Thurrock Council leader Cllr Andrew Jefferies, was blunt in his assessment when he addressed colleagues on the SELEP Board, saying: "This a lesson for everyone. Make sure you can deliver a project before you start it."

The whole farcical management of the project is encapsulated in the clip below, first highlighted on Thurrock Nub News in 2000 when the director of place Andrew Millard gave a 'cast iron guarantee' that there would be no more cost or time overruns. It was a promise he had no chance of keeping and the sheer falsehood of his statement is shown dramatically in the face of the project director Anna Eastgate, who had been drafted in to 'save' the project. Clearly she could no believe what she was hearing Mr Millard say.

Ms Eastgate, who is now acknowledged to have put in place the steps to bring the project to completion despite all the problems, left the council soon after for a senior role at neighbouring Southend Council and has since kept a diplomatically quiet public commentary on the project. However, colleagues say she could not believe the level of incompetence and deceit within the then senior management strata at Thurrock.

Widening the A13 Stanford le Hope by-pass from two to three lanes in both directions, from the junction with the A128 (Orsett Cock roundabout) in the west to the A1014 (The Manorway) in the east and replacing four bridges has created a three-lane carriageway running from the M25 to Stanford-le-Hope.

Thurrock Council's reasioning for the project was to reduce congestion and resultant pollution, improve journey times and support further economic growth not only in Thurrock but across the whole South Essex corridor.

The project started after the contract for the widening works was awarded to Kier in July 2017. The main construction work on the road was initially due to be completed by Autumn 2020.

Thurrock Council has now listed key takeaways from what went wrong – the project's original contract did not take into account the level of change and risk residing within the scope at the time of appointing the Contractor and the project was lacking in areas at times in terms of governance and behaviours.

The council adds Covid-19 had a substantial impact on the scheme, not only in cost and programme,

However, once robust governance and controls were established controls and performance improved noticeably

It also said the scheme out turn cost would have been substantially higher if a scheme reset had not taken place in December 2020.

It adds ultimately that the ultimate out turn cost is a "fair representation of what the scheme value is".

Here's what you could have had. The revised Stanford Rail Station transport hub.

The A13 widening project was not the only Thurrock project discussed at the SELEP meeting.

The Stanford-le-Hope rail station project was also on the agenda.

The council's cabinet will face some tough decisions to make on another disastrous infrastructure project it has managed at next month's cabinet meeting. See story via this link.