AFTER years of waiting, a contract to build the £18.4m Colley Lane Southern Access Road in Bridgwater has been approved.

Somerset County Council's Cabinet met today (December 13) and councillors unanimously voted to award the contract for the Colley Lane Southern Access Road (CLSAR) scheme following an extensive procurement process.

The contract will be signed after Christmas once the mandatory standstill period has ended. Until this point, the successful contractor cannot be named.

The next step will be for detailed plans for the delivery of the scheme to be finalised by the County Council working closely with the new contractor. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2018 and will take around 18 months.

The new carriageway will provide access into the Colley Lane Industrial Estate from the South, avoiding the need for vehicles having to use the most congested sections of Taunton Road, and Broadway by connecting Parrett Way to Marsh Lane with a new roundabout at the existing Marsh Lane/Showground Road junction.

Provision to access brown field development sites located between the River Parrett and the Taunton & Bridgwater Canal has also been made, supporting the delivery of planned housing and employment land nearby.

Colley Lane plans include two new bridges, 840 metres of new carriageway and additional provision for cycle and footways. This huge investment will support development and the local economy in Bridgwater benefiting both residents and businesses.

Cllr John Woodman, Somerset County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said: “We understand that Bridgwater is growing and we are working hard to make sure the right infrastructure is in place to support this.

“Today’s key decision to award a contract is a major step forward in a very important scheme. We know how essential this route is for the people of Bridgwater and are looking forward to starting work soon. We’ll share details of the construction programme with the community as soon as we can.”

The £18.4m Colley Lane scheme will be funded by developer contributions from EDF S106 contributions, £9.38m from housing developers S106 contributions, £3m from DfT Productivity Investment Fund and up to £4m from the Somerset County Council capital programme.

Cllr Leigh Redman, councillor for Bridgwater South, said he was thrilled the contract to see the contract awarded.

 "I am so pleased that after many years of campaigning we will finally see the main contract issued for this important link road.

"Following the most recent election both Cllr Revans and myself have increased pressure to move forward with this scheme, the road will help to relieve pressure on Taunton road because of HPC traffic.

"However it would be remiss of me not to express my concern that a few days after this decision, another will be taken by a different Cabinet member (December 18), Cllr David Hall will sign off a steamrolled report that will impose an additional 250 HGV movements per day onto our roads, having used County processes to minimise debate around this multi million pound temporary increase of 21 months in HGV movements.

"If we are lucky we may see a little benefit from this latest massive increase when the Southern access road finally opens.

"The 16 month build will hopefully give us five months of relief, unless it is delayed further or EDF come back for another temporary increase.”

Claire Pearce, Sedgemoor District Council’s Group Manager for Strategy and Development, said: “Sedgemoor District Council are delighted with the confirmation that the Colley Lane Southern Access Road will start on site shortly, following the award of the contract.

“This scheme is a vital improvement to the Bridgwater transport network to support the existing community, housing developments, as well as the Hinkley Point C project. The road will also open up new employment sites to the south of the town, providing space for business growth, contributing towards meeting our wider economic development objectives.”

RELATED LINK: Decision to be made on the long-awaited Colley Lane relief road this month

Cllr David Fothergill, who chaired the meeting, echoed Cllr Redman's comments and said he is 'delighted' the project is now going ahead. 

"I am delighted to see this coming forward at Cabinet. 

"It did seem that we would never get there but I am delighted that we are and delighted that we can get some infrastructure into Bridgwater."

Cllr Bill Revans, said: "This is highly exciting, we have been waiting for this for a long time."

Works could start on the road in February 2018 and they expect it to be completed in the summer of 2019.