The council share this latest news. Ed
Works to replace the temporary bridge link to the Shanklin cliff lift are well underway. The fully refurbished cliff lift will open in May, in time for the main summer holiday season.
The replacement of the bridge will complete the extensive upgrade project that has taken place to ensure that the Shanklin cliff lift provides an effective and efficient service for users for years to come.
In 2016 an extensive first phase of these works were completed to completely modernise the ageing lifts machinery inside the lift tower, including the renewal of the lifts cars.
A bespoke bridge link needed
Councillor Wayne Whittle, Executive member for tourism and business development, said:
“It had been hoped that the cliff lift would have been able to open in time for the school Easter holidays and it is unfortunate that this can’t happen, due to a slight delay.
“However, because of the uniqueness of the cliff lift itself, and the need to create a bespoke bridge link, this was not possible. For such a unique product, there were only a few suppliers that could provide a solution.”
Timeframes affected
Timeframes have been slightly affected due to the limited number of specialist fabricators that can build such a unique product, and that have the relevant certifications to produce such public carrying bridges, and also the availability of constructions slots in their busy schedules.
The construction of a bridge link in the environment of the cliff must also conform with necessary and rigorous health and safety legislation; the consideration of which impacted on design and construction time.
Island contractor
Island business, MCM, are the main contractor delivering the project on behalf of the Isle of Wight Council.
Preliminary works are underway, before the temporary bridge is removed, and the new structure is installed.
Completing the works will be dependent upon weather conditions, given the height of the bridge and wind impacts while working at the cliff edge, and other factors.
The council is continuing to work with local businesses to ensure that the best possible service is delivered during this period of works.
