Guy Paparella, the city's director of strategic initiatives, said yesterday the extra costs incurred over the past year were not anticipated in the controversial expressway's $200 million budget and that the funds are coming out of a contingency budget for the project.

Mayor Larry Di Ianni is outraged over the figure and said the money could have been better spent on other city projects.

"It's an obscene expenditure that we have to spend $1.2 million to secure workers and equipment against a small group of malcontents who refuse to abide by the wishes of an elected council and a citizenry who supports a project that's long overdue," he said.

Paparella said contingency funds are written into contracts between the city and construction companies and are usually 5 to 15 per cent of the value of the deal.

"The question that has to be asked is how many policemen could we put on the street with that expenditure? How many trees could we plant?" Source.

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