GOOD progress is being made on the £18.4m Colley Lane Southern Access Road (CLASR) project, which is also benefitting good causes in the area.

As part of its tender work for the contract to build the link road, construction company Whitemountain made a commitment to improve the community, not just the road.

Whitemountain have already produced and donated 20 vestibular wobble boards to children’s charity Brainwave, which is based near the development.

Alexis Hawkes, fundraising administrator at Brainwave, said: “Whitemoutain and their staff have kindly made 20 vestibular boards which will be used by the children who attend the charity and will enable them to reach their full potential.

“Brainwave are so grateful to Whitemountain for their support and they will be helping us to make an amazing difference to the lives of children with disabilities. We very much look forward to working together.”

Whitemountain has also pledged to renovate Brainwave's charity garden.

During the course of the project Whitemountain has also agreed to employ local students and sub-contractors and invest in 'local people'; support and donations for The Trussell Trust and Somerset Community Foundation.

The contractor will also take the 'Big Build Scheme' into local schools.

The aim of this project is to give children insight into the construction industry and encourage them to think about the structures around them.

Cllr John Woodman, Somerset County Council’s cabinet member for highways, said: “We’ve been really impressed with the efforts of Whitemountain so far to get involved with the local community.

"Not only are they helping deliver a much needed piece of infrastructure, they are also providing jobs for local people and going the extra mile by supporting local schools and charities.”

The CLSAR includes two new bridges, 840 metres of carriageway and new cycle and footways and will help ease congestion along Taunton Road and Broadway by connecting Parrett Way to Marsh Lane and providing access to the Colley Lane Industrial Estate from the south.

It will also open up brownfield development sites between the River Parrett and the Taunton and Bridgwater Canal.

Piling work and construction of the foundations for the new Somerset Bridge are well underway.