A road in Wiltshire, which has been dubbed the “wonkiest road” in the country is set to reopen this spring following a £5 million investment from the local council.
Prior to a major landslip in February 2022, the B4069 near Lyneham, Wiltshire, was used by more than 5,000 vehicles a day. Around 100 metres of the B4069 was closed when Storm Eunice caused significant ground movement and a major landslip. Locals described the damage to the road as, “like something from a disaster movie”.
What about Undercliff Drive?
Having seen a report on the reopening of B4069, one resident in St Lawrence asked OnTheWight,
“So what’s stopping the reopening of Undercliff Drive?”
Undercliff Drive, which is an A road (3055), remains closed to traffic following landslides which occurred in 2014 whilst Island Roads were carrying out ‘major engineering works’.
Calls for reopening the road
The road has been closed to through traffic since. When former Conservative council leader Dave Stewart was in power he carried out a public consultation, in which 58 per cent of respondents supported reinstating the road.
Following this, Isle of Wight council has submitted an expression of interest to the Department for Transport’s maintenance challenge fund.
Although the funding was not allocated to Undercliff Drive, the Department for Transport permitted the council to reallocate the £2.1 million to other priority highway safety schemes.
More like £20m to fix
At the time Phil Jordan, who was cabinet member for transport and infrastructure said the cost of rebuilding the road would be in excess of £20 million, not the £1m– £2m quoted.
In August 2021, Isle of Wight council confirmed that without external funding there were no plans to undertake such a major infrastructure project.
The section of Undercliff Drive that was closed for several years is now open to pedestrians, cyclists or horse riders. Vehicle traffic is diverted via Whitwell.
Will it ever be reopened?
In October 2023, a spokesperson for IWC said it currently had no definitive plans for the future of Undercliff Drive but was investigating options and their implications for keeping the road or formally closing it.
They said this was happening alongside commissioning design works for potential improvements and safety works in Niton, that may be required on the current diversion route.
Unfair and unreasonable to allow the indecision to be prolonged
In March 2024, council leader, Phil Jordan, said reinstating the collapsed Undercliff Drive near Ventnor would be ‘foolish’.
Residents had asked the council to make a formal decision about the future of the road, either saving it like Belgrave Road in Ventnor or officially closing it.
One concerned resident said the ongoing closure of the Undercliff to vehicles is impacting people’s lives and it feels unfair and unreasonable to allow the indecision to be prolonged.
For the full history of Undercliff Drive, visit OnTheWight’s Undercliff Drive archive (150+ articles).
