Major Birmingham road scheme nearing completion despite rise in costs

Birmingham Council’s scheme to improve a key city route is nearing completion despite being hit by a huge rise in costs.

The council confirmed this week that the major A457 Dudley Road project, designed to improve journey times and enhance public transport in the area, is scheduled for completion this summer.

The scheme is upgrading facilities for pedestrians and cyclists; providing new bus lanes; and improving junctions to reduce congestion.

The project has been plagued by soaring costs however, with the council approving around £2.5m of extra funding for the scheme last year amid “emerging pressures”.

The council’s cabinet had previously approved the £32.1m original budget in 2022 and then a revised budget of £37.1m a year later “to account for inflationary pressures and design changes”.

A report from last year said the extra £2.5m brought the forecast cost to complete the project to around £39.6m – £7 million higher than the original budget.

There was anger and frustration from both government-appointment commissioners at the council and opposition councillors when this additional funding was given the green light.

“What’s particularly disappointing is that it’s the second time it has come back to cabinet for more funding,” Liberal Democrat councillor Roger Harmer said in April 2025. “To come back once is perhaps understandable, though disappointing.

“To come back a second time shows our processes are not up to scratch.”

Coun Robert Alden, leader of the Conservatives at the council, added: “This is money that could have gone on transport improvements across the city.

“The problem in this organisation is not lessons learnt reports being needed – it’s that the cabinet are not learning the lessons that everyone is telling them need to be learnt to stop this kind of thing happening in the future.”

Despite this disappointment, the council said this week that construction of the fourth and final phase of the project is “progressing well”.

“This phase will deliver a protected cycle route separated from cars and people walking, along the frontage of the Birmingham Treatment Centre and former City Hospital site,” it said in its project update.

“This cycle route will run between Aberdeen Street and Western Road, providing the ‘missing link’ by connecting cycle routes that have already been delivered in previous phases.

“This will create a continuous, safer, more accessible corridor for those cycling.

“Once complete, the route will link into Birmingham city centre via the Jewellery Quarter and the ring road, while also providing access to the Harborne Walkway.”

The council went on to confirm that this final phase of works is “planned for completion in Summer 2026″.

In last year’s report, the council said the revised budget in 2023 was approved to “accommodate wider unforeseen economic inflationary pressures and rising base energy, material and labour costs resulting from wider global financial instability”.

Other factors, such as delays resulting from technical approvals, also had an impact.

“The programme for delivery of phase four has been dictated by the ongoing decommissioning and demolition of City Hospital and the protracted delays to the opening of the New Midland Metropolitan University Hospital,” the report continued.

“This has resulted in further extensions to the A457 delivery programme with increased cost pressures impacting the overall scheme budget.”

Coun Majid Mahmood, the cabinet member for transport last year, also argued they could not lose sight of the “significant extenuating circumstances” which had impacted the project.

Phase one of the scheme was completed in July 2022, where the improved junction unlocked access to the Galliard/Soho Wharf development.

The second phase was completed in late summer 2024, with new and improved cycle facilities, footways and ‘highway realignment’ to incorporate bus lanes.

Phase three, focusing on Lee Bridge and Icknield Port Road Junction, is providing additional highway capacity.