Island Roads say they have met with Wroxall community representatives ahead of major carriageway reconstruction works in the village planned to start in November.
The project will focus on large sections of St John’s Road, High Street and Clarence Road. These areas have been highlighted in the local media following calls for resurfacing by councillors and campaigners.
Timing of the work
The company delayed the scheme earlier this year, first due to the closure of Leeson Road and then to avoid disruption during the busy summer months.
Work is now scheduled to begin on 10th November. It will pause for two weeks over Christmas to avoid affecting festive trade, before resuming in the New Year.
12 week 24-hour closure
The project is expected to take up to 12 weeks in total.
During this time, the road will remain under a 24-hour closure, except during the Christmas break.
Phased approach
Island Roads will carry out the project in phases to limit the impact on residents.
Further details on the phasing and timings will be announced soon.
Addressing long-term issues
Preparation will also be carried out during the works to support future strengthening of the embankment, which saw a major landslip in 2022.
Project managers have already met with the Isle of Wight Council member for Wroxall, Lowtherville and Bonchurch, Mark Jefferies, as well as Wroxall Parish Council. A meeting has also been held with Southern Vectis to discuss the impact on bus services.
Community engagement
An Island Roads spokesperson said,
“The local community has rightly highlighted the need for improvement work and we’re pleased to say that the work we are planning will not only improve the ride quality now, it will address the issues that have caused the road to deteriorate, reducing the need for future maintenance.
“To do that we will have dig down to a greater depth to rebuild the foundations of the road. These deeper excavations do however mean that a road closure is required to progress the works as quickly as possible and equally to protect the work force. That will clearly cause disruption and so we are keen to speak to the community so people have advance notice of the work and can prepare accordingly.”
