Rock cutters are being readied for work to restart on Warwickshire County Council's ill-fated 'Bridge to Nowhere' over the A46 – but a secret update left one councillor warning of a "disaster bomb".

The council confirmed that equipment parked up near the disconnected bridge straddling the A46 at Stoneleigh Junction, near Kenilworth, was in preparation for excavation work to begin in the new year, although the project is set to go back before all councillors again on Tuesday, December 16.

That update followed two recent meetings where more detail was issued to elected officials behind closed doors.

The latest publicly-available financial estimate for the overdue and over budget work is £57 million – 50 per cent more than initially budgeted for.

Portfolio holder for transport and planning Cllr Jennifer Warren steered clear of any talk of finances when fielding questions during cabinet last month but did reveal the aim was to complete the job by spring or summer 2027, up to five years later than originally planned.

She also declared her "hope that everything will be put to council in December", potentially an unwitting clue that more money may be required.

The leader or portfolio holders – the Reform UK councillors in charge of major service areas – are able to sign off funds or budget extensions up to £2 million. Anything above that needs approval from full council. 

The project has been a hot potato for some years and was inherited by Reform UK having taken power from the Conservatives through May's local elections.

Will this hamper other highways jobs?

The latest private update was issued to the council's communities overview and scrutiny committee – a panel of councillors that oversees and makes recommendations on relevant areas of council business – last week.

Committee chair Cllr Jan Matecki, who was in charge of highways until his party lost power in May, declared from the outset that the A46 update would be for "members and relevant officers" only and that the information was "not to be shared outside of this meeting". 

Cllr Jonathan Chilvers utilised a time slot for questions to portfolio holders to ask about the wider impact of the A46 cost overruns and whether Cllr Warren was "at all concerned that money will now not be available for other highways schemes", an element that was not flagged as commercially sensitive. 

Cllr Warren said the private update would "make that quite clear" but Cllr Chilvers pressed again for an answer in public.

He asked: "Speaking generally, are you concerned about the pipeline of projects and the impact of having less money to spend?"

Cllr Warren said: "No, I am not. I have been reassured but I would like you to be updated by officers (council employees) afterwards if that's okay?"

Cllr Chilvers also wanted assurance over the push to achieve best value for money, asking: "Are you confident that we are going for the minimum viable design that gives value for the taxpayer on this scheme?"

"Yes, I am," was Cllr Warren's response. 

"It has been going on for a long time, obviously there is major disruption, there have been issues. 

"We are putting things in place to ensure that this doesn't happen again, we are doing early monitoring. 

"From what I can see, with my knowledge, the effect of the new backing for the bridge is a cost-effective route forward but I think we have to get the works done. I am confident that it will be acceptable."

Were the answers 'acceptable'?

The Local Democracy Reporting Service subsequently asked Cllr Chilvers whether he deemed "acceptable" the content of the confidential briefing.

"The whole thing is still a complete disaster bomb and every option still needs to be on the table," he said.

"This is an incredibly complicated situation and it is up to us as members to turn over every stone on behalf of the taxpayer to make sure we get the best way forward and best value for money.

"It is a massive decision for the council – the whole council – and I would expect the administration to be fully involving members to make the best decisions possible.

"It is up to the administration to justify the report they bring to council and it is up to me and other members to turn over absolutely every stone and look at every option."

Did everything need to be behind closed doors?

The Local Democracy Reporting Service also asked Warwickshire County Council to clarify which elements it considered private, what consideration had been given to providing the non-sensitive updates in public and when a public update would be available. 

A council statement read: "The project is still subject to the restraints of commercial sensitivity so at this stage it remains inappropriate to discuss it in public. We are working towards providing public updates as soon as we are able to.

"The public may have seen activity on the site, however, as rock cutters (pictured) have been moved into position. The machine is a specialist piece of equipment solely designed for excavating through rock and will be excavating the crane bases to construct the wingwalls and the permanent wingwall foundations.

"We are pleased to see this work happening and look forward to beginning construction in the new year."

It was put to the council that this non-sensitive information could have been included in the public part of last week's meeting. The council was asked again what consideration had been given to providing such updates in public but had yet to respond prior to publication.