After nearly three years of construction, upgrades to George St were officially declared complete on Friday last week — six months ahead of schedule.
A Dunedin City Council spokesman said yesterday the forecast final cost of the project was $104.852 million, just under the council’s budget of $104.97m, which included a $10m contingency.
The council spokesman said the contingency, like on any large project, was there to cover unforeseen additional work and costs.
The budget covered the cost of Three Waters, transport, amenity improvements for George St and surrounding enabling work on parts of Great King, Frederick, St Andrews and Hanover Sts.The expected final cost of the project, while on budget, has climbed since June last year when councillors were told it was forecast to be completed for $87.76m, plus a $10m contingency.
The council spokesman said it was pleased with the public’s response during opening weekend celebrations on George St.
"It was also great to see so many people out making the most of what the new and improved George St has to offer over the weekend.
"We’ve received a lot of positive feedback and we couldn’t be happier with the results."
— Staff reporter
