Resurfacing Berkhamsted’s Grand Union Canal towpath from Castle Street to the Waitrose footbridge cost £24,000 less than expected.
The work was expected to cost £86,000 – prompting complaints that public sector bodies like Berkhamsted Town Council were spending £200 a metre on it.
Town councillor David Collins said on Monday: “It was actually £120 a metre, not £200 a metre – 500 metres were completed and the total cost was £62,000.”