Brading High Street is a busy thoroughfare, so it’s not surprising that when the road has to be closed for essential roadworks or utility works, it can cause upheaval for those who live in Brading or travel through it.
In August, Island Roads announced that to keep disruption to a minimum, they’d be carrying out road resurfacing works on Brading High Street at night.
The dates given were Friday 8th to Wednesday 13th September, between the hours of 7.30pm and 6am. Roadwork signs were placed around the area, also stating a start date of Friday 8th September.
Road closed 24 hours ahead of schedule
Drivers and residents were left angry and frustrated last night (Thursday) when 24 hours earlier than expected, Island Roads closed access to the High Street and started work on the resurfacing.
Without informing residents, businesses or the media.
Resident: It was “mayhem”
What followed has been described to OnTheWight as “mayhem”.
One Brading resident, Richard Mabert, explained that because of the planned closure from 8th, his wife, a care worker in Ryde, changed her shift from Friday to Thursday to ensure she could get home easily.
He said it took him a huge amount of time to get out of Brading to pick her up and get home. Adding that he reported the “shambles” to the Police and Island Roads.
Richard said the ‘mayhem’ meant people were driving angrily, with one driver involved in a collision on Green Lane, his car overturning as a result.
Lack of communication down to “human error”
A spokesperson for Island Roads told OnTheWight today,
“We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused by our work to resurface Brading High Street which began last night (7 Sept), a night earlier than previously communicated to residents.
“Although our work programme can be subject to change due to a number of reasons, the change affecting the Brading scheme should have been relayed to residents and business. Human error meant this communication did not occur and, we sincerely apologise for this oversight. We are taking steps to ensure that this doesn’t happen in the future.
“We anticipate that the three-night scheme will be completed, weather permitting, on the nights of September 8 and 11 and thank residents for their ongoing patience during these works.”
Image: raver_mikey under CC BY 2.0
