BOISE, Idaho_ An American engineer formerly responsible for building the infrastructure and facilities for the 2012 London Olympics says politics drove him out.

Lemley, who quit in mid-October, said the London construction projects seemed likely to come in late and cost more than expected due to politics, and he feared that would ruin his reputation of delivering projects on time and on budget.

"I went there to build things, not to sit and talk about it," Lemley told the Idaho Statesman daily newspaper. "So I felt it best to leave the post and come home."

When he quit, Lemley said he wanted to concentrate on his construction interests in the United States. Lemley, 71, leads Lemley International, a Boise-based global engineering and consulting company. He was appointed chairman of the Olympic Delivery Agency last November and given a four-year contract.

Lemley said he started hitting a number of snags in London, one of which was the 80,000-seat stadium for athletics events. Initial plans were to build it so that it could be converted to a 25,000-seat stadium after the Olympics. But Lemley told the Idaho Statesman that local politicians wanted to convert it to a soccer stadium, which Lemley said would not be possible.

He said he decided to get out early before financial goals and deadlines were missed.

"I felt it was better to come home now than face that in five or six years," he said.

Lemley, who was honored by Queen Elizabeth in 1996 for his work on the Channel tunnel, said he made the right decision.

"I miss working on the project, but I don't have a rearview mirror," he said. "When I make a decision like that, I never look back."

Information from: Idaho Statesman, http://www.idahostatesman.com