A NEW road on Canvey will now cost taxpayers an extra £3.62million to complete.

Essex County Council set aside £14.93million for the scheme to link Roscommon Way with Haven Road aimed at cutting congestion in the area.

But because of extra work needed to pipelines, the project has been delayed and the cost has soared to £18million.

County councillor Tracey Chapman, cabinet member for highways and transportation, took the decision to increase the amount of money set aside for the scheme.

She said: “The Roscommon Way extension scheme will provide a significant boost to the regeneration of Canvey, and bring much needed relief to the road network. By delaying the planned completion date we can deliver important pipeline protection work, ensuring the effective delivery of the scheme.”

Work started on the mile-long road last May and was scheduled to finish in April this year.

But it stalled in March after workmen found they had to carry out extra work around three oil and gas pipes.

The council will now have to build a new bridge to protect the pipelines at Holehaven and Romainville Way as well as diverting a pipeline at Haven Road.

The extra cash needed to finish the road will be made up of a £1.28million grant from the Homes and Communities Agency and £2.34million from savings within the county council’s highways budget for this year.

It is hoped the new road could create an extra 1,700 new jobs by improving access to Charfleets Industrial Estate.

Canvey councillor Ray Howard is pleased the road is still going ahead.

He said: “Obviously I am very disappointed these costs have escalated. What we have got to recognise, when you are undertaking civil engineering works over major pipelines that are serving the country, they have come across obstacles which they never realised. The good news is the road is still going to go ahead, hopeful to achieve the jobs that Canvey desperately needs.”