Asbestos found at new £48 million Bolton interchange site

Transport for Greater Manchester — which is carrying out the scheme — said a small quantity of material suspected of containing asbestos was excavated by workers.

After securing the area, specialist tests were carried out which confirmed that the dangerous material was present in the samples.

The area was fully excavated and the affected material has now been safely disposed of.

Transport chiefs said such discoveries were not uncommon and that the incident has not pushed back the completion date of the project.

TfGM head of programme management services Peter Boulton said: “During redevelopment projects such as this, it is common for contractors to encounter various types of ground contamination, especially when the land has previously been used for industrial or commercial purposes.

“In this instance, the contractor immediately secured the site in the safest possible manner, arranged for the appropriate excavation and disposal of the material and re-sequenced construction activities.

“Construction of the interchange is progressing well and is scheduled for completion at the end of 2016.”

The asbestos discovery is not the only stumbling block the project has met.

Contractors have also discovered uncharted utility services beneath the work site. Workmen have also faced difficult weather conditions over the winter months.

Mr Boulton added: “These different factors have required the project to complete design and construction activities in a different order to that originally planned, which has adjusted the projected costs for the forthcoming financial year.

“However, the project is still forecast to be completed within the £48 million budget.”

Figures published by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority indicate that the current forecasted expenditure on the project for 2015/16 is £14.1 million compared to the previous forecast of £13.6 million.

The new costings still fall within the approved budget.