It’s been revealed that the Isle of Wight council have decided to force Islanders around a 3.5 mile diversion through the back roads of Newport for five weeks.
This is only the first part of over a year’s worth roadworks being done to one of the most pivotal traffic points on the Island – St Mary’s roundabout.
Many Islanders feel this major reworking of the roundabout is the wrong thing to do. Indeed many Isle of Wight councillors tried to halt this, on Wednesday asking the council to pause, to consider if the whole scheme is the right thing to do, but this was blocked by the Conservative councillors voting against it.
What’s happening?
If you want to drive from St Mary’s roundabout out West along Forest Road, this will directly affect you, as they’re making a 0.2 mile section of it by the roundabout one way eastbound only.
The impact of shifting this traffic will be far greater, impacting pretty much everyone that drives through or around Newport.
The official 3.5 miles diversion is detailed below. Whichever short cuts people will take through the tiny streets of Newport, attempting to avoid the additional traffic jams is uncertain.
Extra pressure on already busy roads
The council’s official route will put extra strain on the already busy Coppins Bridge area, the Matalan roundabout and the narrow roads from Nodehill, down Trafalgar Road.
After this it will hit the area near Wellington Road – already known as very busy around school times, unsurprising as the area has five schools in it, including Christ the King and Carisbrooke Colleges.
Carisbrooke’s historic High Street leads on to Gunville, which has sections where traffic calming measures dictate that only one car at a time can pass in either direction.
Many feel the work to St Mary’s roundabout, which will go on for well over a year, is unnecessary, and will be in effectual. They also believe there are better ways the money can be spent improving traffic around the Island.
The whole route
Click to see larger version.
