As anyone travelling in and out of Ventnor will know, the road closure between Gills Cliff Road and Down Lane has been causing headaches for many.
With Lowtherville (Upper Ventnor) effectively cut off from the rest of the town, those with young children in the lower schools, those who rely on transport into town for their shopping, doctors, dentists and those who work in the town have found the 10 day road closure extremely difficult to work around.
The road works were supposed to be completed by this coming Friday (25th March) but have now been extended until 1st April.
It’s no April Fool
Many residents have spoken to VB about what they believed was a lack of work taking place on the site. This coupled with the news of an extension to the closure has caused huge concern for those affected by the works.
We got in touch with the council yesterday to share these concerns. Here’s what they told us this morning.
While preparing the section of Newport Road (between Gills Cliff Road and Down Lane) for resurfacing a large hole of approximately 1m in depth was discovered under the road’s foundations where it crosses the Graben fault line in Upper Ventnor.
The geological fault causes gradual ground movement and has, in the past, caused cracking in the road and has been responsible for the loss of several buildings.
Peter Hayward, Isle of Wight Council Head of Highways and Transport, said: “Unfortunately the discovery of the void along the fault line has required repair to the foundation of the road. That repair is now complete although due to the nature of the work to reduce the levels we had to carefully monitor the exposed surface for signs of additional cracking or voids. It has be necessary to undertake this work in a methodical manner and as a consequence progress appears slower than expected. Each phase on the works is being inspected by highways engineers and progress is on track for the resurfacing of the carriageway to be completed by Friday 1 April 2011.
“Our inspectors visit the site regularly to check that work is progressing as per schedule and we will take necessary action if this is found not to be the case.”
Details of the Bus diversion
Image: functoruser under CC BY 2.0
