Squibbers Way in Bridgwater has won two honours at the South West’s top civil engineering awards.

The scheme, also known as the Colley Lane Southern Access Road, was presented with the New Build Project Over £3m Award and the Community Award at the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) South West Civil Engineering Awards 2020.

The Judging Panel praised the community involvement in the £18.4m scheme by Somerset County Council with main contractor, Whitemountain and project manager, AECOM.

The judges said: “The ground conditions, the piling, the contaminated land, flood risk, the longest span bridge in Somerset – all these different elements and challenges came together in this clever scheme.”

The primary purpose of the new road was to provide an alternative link from the M5 to the Colley Lane Industrial Estate and ease congestion by taking lorries off two residential roads to improve the lives of local people through reduced noise and air pollution.

The road scheme also included much improved walking and cycling links and unlocked contaminated brownfield land for development.

The award winners were announced at an online event on Thursday, September 24, after the physical awards ceremony, schedule for early July, had to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Institution of Civil Engineers is the oldest professional engineering association in the world, representing more than 95,000 civil engineers and technicians across the world, with 6,000 members in the South West, who design, build and maintain the region’s infrastructure.