THE completion date is due to be announced shortly of a new £22million road that will hopefully kick-start the development of a vast derelict site in Taunton.

Highways experts are working on the design of a bridge before finalising the timescale of the remaining works.

Work started in October 2013 on the mile-long Northern Inner Distributor Road, which will run from a roundabout being built at the junction of Staplegrove Road and Chip Lane, along part of the disused railway line through to Priory Avenue.

The scheme includes a new bridge which has been constructed over the River Tone and the Bridgwater to Taunton Canal near Priory Fields Business Park and a replacement footbridge which has replaced the Forty Steps.

Another bridge will replace the existing one over Station Road on the disused railway line near Whitehall.

Work is progressing on the roundabout at Staplegrove Road and modifications have been worked on for some time on the roundabout at the junction of Priory Avenue and Priory Fields.

A Somerset County Council spokesman said yesterday (Wednesday): “A review of the proposed bridge (over Station Road) design is currently nearing completion, following which we will be able to confirm the overall timescale for completion of this project.”

Work was originally predicted to last for 18 months, with completion earmarked for this spring, although work was hampered last winter by heavy rainfall.

Once completed, the NIDR will provide access to the Firepool site, enabling a business, residential and shopping development there to gather pace, helping create thousands of jobs.