Route by route, the network is being upgraded to a standard that will support growth and development and facilitate more balanced regional development. Senator Browne is concerned about cost overruns and delays in completing the programme in the timeframe originally envisaged. He is not alone in this regard. All involved in implementing the programme share these concerns. The cost of the programme mandated in the NDP has increased substantially. The main reasons for this are some underestimation in costs when the NDP was being drawn up in 1999; construction cost inflation in the period 1999-2001; exceptional items such as the upgrade of the N9, higher land costs on the south eastern motorway and additional costs on the Dublin port tunnel; higher land acquisition costs, particularly in Dublin and adjacent to urban areas; and the availability of more accurate and detailed estimates as projects progressed from preliminary to more detailed planning.