With the long-delayed new A46 roundabout at Stoneleigh still many months away from completion, Liberal Democrats in Kenilworth are calling on the county council to "come clean" about the situation. 

Originally scheduled to finish in summer 2022, the major infrastructure project has been hit by continued delays.

The new bridge deck was installed in early 2023, but it is yet to be connected to the new road layout, with Cllr Richard Dickson revealing at last week's Kenilworth Town Council meeting a new completion date of winter 2024 is now expected.

Warwickshire County Council gave the Colas-Siac joint venture the go-ahead in 2020 to start the £38 million development.

Works will eventually see a new roundabout, slip roads and the bridge built at the junction.

"The new bridge was installed in February 2023, but it's a bridge to nowhere because it's not been connected to the rest of the junction," Cllr Dickson said.

"We've chased the County Council for an explanation of what's going on and, although we've been told it's now on schedule for completion by December 2024, we've had very little explanation of the cause of the delay let alone the financial consequences.

"With very little work taking place on site on a daily basis, we're also questioning how realistic is the revised completion date of the end of this year.

"What's been going on with the project management, what's the cost of the delay and will local taxpayers end up having to pay?"

In September 2023 Nub News was also told the project remained within budget.

However following an request to clarify whether this was still the case in January, we were told "commercial matters cannot be commented on during the construction".

A spokesperson for the local authority said this week: "The council and its contractor are continuing to work hard to overcome an issue with the supply of the backfill material for the new A46 bridge. 

"The resolution of the backfill issue is impacting the expected end date of the project and we expect to be in a position soon to provide an update on the anticipated completion date.

"Any extra cost associated with the extended construction programme will be reviewed and agreed between the contractor and the council and until this process has been concluded at the end of the project a final construction cost can't be confirmed."