The estimated costs of the troubled A5 Western Transport Corridor road scheme have now hit more than £1.6billion.
The road project, which proposes to update the existing A5 to dual carriageway between Newbuildings and Aughnacloy, has been beset by legal challenges since it was first proposed in 2007.
A third public inquiry into the delayed project will reconvene in January after being adjourned in 2020.
READ MORE: Minister urged to progress with major A5 project 'urgently' as Northern Ireland election looms
As part of an updated economic appraisal of the scheme released on Monday by the Department for Infrastructure, the total estimated costs for the scheme if it were completed in 2028 are £1.609bn.
A total of £80million has already been spent on the project without any construction having started, with £53million of that going towards consultant fees.
Northern Ireland roads expert Wesley Johnston now says the scheme is ‘unaffordable and undeliverable’ given the costs involved.
The Irish government have pledged to provide £75million towards the cost of the A5 upgrade, but with costs continuing to rise and no Infrastructure minister in place the affordability of the project has been called into question.
“I think the upgrade is needed and it’s justified, but I think it’s at the point now where it’s unaffordable,” Wesley told Belfast Live.
“Even with Dublin contributing that still leaves us with a significant amount of money. It’s at the point now where we’re going to have to fund three quarters of the cost of it.
“I just don’t think Northern Ireland can afford anything like that. We don’t have any spare money for roads according a to a draft budget that was never passed so you wonder where this money is going to come from."
In the last 12 months, nine people have died on the A5 as a result of road crashes, and Wesley added that the Department is at risk of ‘achieving nothing’ by pursuing the scheme as it currently stands.
He said: “I think the Department are at risk of achieving nothing by pursuing a scheme that is undeliverable, rather than scaling down their ambition a bit and making some changes to that road that could actually have a chance of going ahead and maybe saving some lives.”
The Department for Infrastructure have been approached for comment.
The public have been invited to submit their views on the A5 Supplementary Environmental Information published on Monday by the Department.
The public inquiry is due to reconvene on 25 January 2023 in the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh.
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