Edinburgh’s North Bridge has reopened to full use this month, closing an eight-year restoration that ran dramatically over its original budget. What began with a £12 million estimate ended at a projected £86 million, roughly seven times the initial figure, in one of the more striking examples of how infrastructure costs can spiral once work begins.
The problems date to a routine inspection in 2016, when water infiltration was found seeping into cracks in the concrete. What looked at first like a manageable repair revealed deeper structural damage, and the scope of the work expanded accordingly. The result was years of closures and traffic restrictions across one of the city’s central crossings.
The final cost will draw scrutiny, as such overruns always do, and questions about how the estimate diverged so far from the outcome are legitimate. Restoration of a 130-year-old structure carrying modern loads is rarely predictable, but a sevenfold increase invites examination of how the project was scoped and managed from the outset.
For now, the more immediate fact is that the bridge is open again, its carriageways and footpaths restored in time for the influx the festivals bring. The engineering has been completed and the accounting will be argued over separately. Edinburgh has its crossing back, at a price the city will be reflecting on for some time.
