The cost of installing safety fencing along the entire 25km length of the Guided Busway may almost double, it has emerged.
Cambridgeshire County Council is putting up the fencing after it received a £6 million fine from the Health and Safety Executive in relation to three deaths on the route.
A report to the Highways and Transport Committee presented on Tuesday (30 June) explains the original budget for the fencing was £6.58m – but the project has already exceeded these costs.
“An additional £6m may therefore be required to enable the fencing along the full length of the Busway,” the paper says.
Amount queried
At the meeting, H&I County Councillor Ros Hathorn queried the amount and was told the project’s popular southern section – which covers the biomedical campus and Addenbrooke’s Hospital – had “presented particular challenges”.
Jamie Cooke, the Council’s Director of Transport and Connectivity, said: “[It was] very important to get that fencing installed quickly and as we began that process it became clear that because of the amount of people using the shared use track, the fencing had to be of a higher specification…
“…So it cost a little bit more to deliver than we first anticipated and we also wanted to deliver it really quickly as well.”
It was also revealed the original cost estimate was based on a “traditional three or four-bar wooden fence”, but after various areas were risk assessed “it became apparent that would not be suitable”.
Mr Cooke added that the fencing along the northern section of the Busway – between Station Road, Histon, and St Ives – “will look slightly different”.
He said: “It will be of a slightly less specification because the risks are judged to be slightly lower in the northern section. But we very much take on board the point around the requirement to make sure our communities get to view that fencing well ahead of installation.”
The fencing between Histon and St Ives is expected to get underway in the summer, once the procurement process for a contractor is complete.
‘A lot of money’
After the meeting, Ros commented: “I was really nervous when I first read the paper as it’s a lot of money and I was nervous that we were endorsing the spend without having seen plans.
“I was going to submit an amendment but by working through the issues with the Council I can see that looking back at previous decisions the committee chair and vice chair can apply the brakes to the work if necessary.”
She also mentioned how “the action of Histon and Impington” has led to “far better communication from the Council to the public” about the works.
Ros added: “There is a regular newsletter, regular meetings for councillors affected by the Busway to report back and ask questions and public engagement sessions where people can talk directly to council officers.
“There is also a hope that not all the money will be needed and it can be returned to a fund for other Busway works.”
Fencing queries
At the meeting, Ros also raised specific queries she regularly receives from residents about why the fencing is required, even though the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has not instructed the Council to install it.
Mr Cooke confirmed that while the fencing works were not a stipulation from HSE, the Council had to “perform a thorough and very detailed risk assessment”.
He said: “… clearly for us, there’s quite substantial identified works in terms of accidental and occasional intentional incursion onto the Busway.
“The fencing really from our perspective was the only practical measure that could prevent that.
“[If we were] not to put the fencing in place, there’s an argument that we may not be able to continue operating the Busway, which would not be a situation we’d want to find ourselves in.”
Mr Cooke also confirmed the relevant evaluations – including risk assessments as well as ecology and wildlife assessments – had been carried out. For wildlife, this includes ensuring there are gaps in the fencing at regular intervals for animals to get around.
Meanwhile, proposed drawings for a formal crossing and upgrades to the footpath at Histon Orchard were presented to the public last month. And yesterday (1 July), Busway buses were being re-routed through the village for vegetation to be cleared around St Audrey’s crossing.
READ MORE: Drawings of Histon Busway presented to public; Preferred location for Busway crossing revealed; Petition calls for footpaths through Busway barrier; Fence to be installed along Busway.
