Council will need to find another $4.7 million to complete the Bridge Mall redevelopment, a media release states, after crews unearthed a historic bridge and contaminated soil.
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If the extra funding is approved, it would take building a street down the pedestrian mall to more than $23 million as it hits the halfway point.
In a media release, the City of Ballarat blamed "more contaminated than expected" material was excavated during the works, and a historic bridge that had been covered over by the mall that will need to be replaced.
"While many of the issues were anticipated, the extent of rectification works required has been more significant than expected and could not have been reasonably anticipated during the design phase," the release states.
The extra money would cover replacing the bridge, removing asbestos, and consultant fees, as well as including a 10 per cent contingency if anything else is found.
The proposal for the extra $4.7 million will be discussed at Wednesday's council meeting as part of quarterly financial report discussions.
The project was initially budgeted at $15 million when it was approved by council, with another $3 million added in April 2023.
In July 2023, as work began, mayor Des Hudson said the development's budget and timeline should be met.
"Can we always guarantee that? No, we can't due to unforeseen circumstances but we will work has hard as we possibly can so that we can deliver as much of the project, if not all of the project, without having to come back to council," he said.
Council expects the Bridge Mall redevelopment, which began in July, will be finished before Christmas - all shops remain open for trading.
