Read the Fine Print on Boris Johnson's New Infrastructure Plans
Big infrastructure projects have often struggled to deliver. The government must explain how new ones will be different.
Bigger isn’t necessarily better.
Photographer: Darren Staples/BloombergThe new U.K. budget promises a massive new infrastructure push, especially for the “left behind” areas of England and Wales. That sounds positive; but large-scale infrastructure projects in Britain have a checkered record. If the government is to avoid past mistakes, it will have to show it has learned from them.
Four major projects that have run into difficulty illustrate the problems well. The first, CrossRail, is a 73-mile line running east to west across London, both under- and over-ground. Two years ago it was seen as a great success: on time, on budget and with an impressive U.K. supply chain. But problems in the complex software systems required for signalling and station operations meant the opening has been delayed for at least two years until spring 2021 soonest. The cost has escalated, adding 3 billion pounds ($3.92 billion) to the estimated cost of 15 billion pounds. The project has become an embarrassment for the publicly owned Transport for London and the contractors.