Last week OnTheWight revealed that highways PFI contractor, Island Roads, have not been replacing Catseyes to all the roads they’ve been resurfacing.
Earlier this week, we went on to question why – 18 months into the 25 year contract – the council has not done anything about this yet, effectively letting Island Roads get away with it.
Dumped and left at the roadside
Doug Alldred, who sparked the issue last week having driven around the Island a lot recently and noticed the lack of Catseyes on the roads has been back in touch.
Doug was pretty shocked to discover that not only were Island Roads not replacing Catseyes to all roads they had removed them from, but also that their staff had dumped piles of Catseyes at the side of the road after they resurfaced Shorwell Shute earlier in the year (see photos below).
Disturbing news given the people we’ve spoken to tell us that these type of Catseyes are pretty expensive – and of course, chucking them in the hedge probably isn’t the best idea, litter/flytipping-wise.
Island Roads: They’re ‘Stored safely’
We asked Island Roads to confirm whether the Catseyes that had been removed from roads they’ve resurfaced are being stored somewhere safely?
A spokesperson for Island Roads told OnTheWight,
“Road studs (cats eyes) that are to be re-used are stored safely.”
Questions still outstanding
A request for a list of all roads where Catseyes or road studs have been removed and not replaced by Island Roads has still not been forthcoming from the company.
Over a week ago we also asked the council if, during the tremendously expensive preparation for the PFI, did they gather a list of the locations of Catseyes in their ‘assets’ register. They have also failed to provide an answer, despite re-prompting.
Set of photos
Click on images to see larger versions
Image: thebaylees under CC BY 2.0
