330 miles of roads and 230 miles of pavements have been resurfaced across the Isle of Wight, according to the latest performance data from Island Roads.
Official documents released ahead of the next Isle of Wight Council Corporate Scrutiny Committee meeting reveal that 22 miles of the Island’s roads were resurfaced between 31st August 2019 and 30th June 2020, averaging just 2.2 miles a month.
It was initially planned that the Island’s road network would be brought up to scratch within the first 7 years of the 25-year Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract with Island Roads, a time frame known as the Core Investment Period (CIP). This was due to end on 31st March this year. However, it has been confirmed that there will be a further 4 years of significant resurfacing and repairs on the Isle of Wight as the major project is behind schedule – something Island Echo suggested back in May 2019.
Islanders were initially led to believe that 508 miles of roads would be resurfaced under the PFI contract, but according to Councillor Ian Ward this was reduced by 30% in 2010 – to 355 miles. This could mean that just 25 miles of roads are left to be resurfaced, leaving 153 miles untouched.
At the start of the PFI contract, 14,280 signs were listed as being included in the tender but just 6,198 have been upgraded (43.40%) as of the end of May. Furthermore, there are 3,991 street nameplates on the Isle of Wight with only 15.61% (623) replaced so far. Another area of improvement includes seats and benches, with 388 of 809 (47.96%) improved. It’s also been revealed that only 1,353 bollards out of 9,134 (14.81%) have been upgraded, whilst 106 out of 241 shelters (43.98%) have either been spruced up or replaced.
133 minor and major drainage schemes out of an initial plan of 138 have been successfully completed, with 10 bridge schemes also completed out of 15 listed.
Whilst there is still a lot more work to be undertaken, it has been confirmed that the replacement of street lighting, CCTV cameras, illuminated signs and bollards, traffic lights, safety fencing and car park meters have all been completed. In addition, anti-skid treatment on the roads and geotechnical schemes have been finished.
The coronavirus pandemic not only affected work on the network but also led to a massive drop in enquiries to Island Roads. In the month of April – at the height of the lockdown – enquiries fell to just 886 – a 67% drop compared to April 2019. The number of complaints has also fallen in 2020, with 41 recorded between January and June, a drop of 71% year-on-year.
Plenty more work to be done yet! Re-surfacing those that are already breaking up since being done and getting paid twice for the same job?
And absolutely nothing to be proud of. How much longer do we have to put up with these people?
They need a shake up
So true, Bunch of Cowboys
I wonder when they’ll get round to sorting out Belgrave Road in Ventnor? I thought they were waiting for drier weather, well we have had lots of that but the road is still closed.
Gabion gage walling is what is needed there. Cheap and fast, but that way, no chance of a few hundred ‘k’ syphoned away.
Do they know where VENTNOR is!
330 miles of road done and 290 miles need redoing again because they have sunken broken up. oh and when will fairlee road between medina and island harbour going to done as it’s like driving on a 4×4 track and getting worse by the day.
Overpaid, under worked.
They should be paid on performance and quality of Work.
I know quite a few I.R Employees and not many are very good at Road work.
Reading newspapers and eating in their vehicles with their feet up is there speciality!
While stood in the que with my kids at macdonalds at lunch time there was 2 young island road workers laughing and joking about how they’d gridlocked Newport working on trafalgar Road it just seemed a big laugh and joke to them. if this is the attitude they have god help us.
They park where ever they want, blocking other persona drives etc
They have no Management with any Brains!
Clearly, it has been in Island Roads interest to just ‘do’ the easiest roads first, IF as it is, their performance is measured on mileage.
Those easy long road with few drains, few cars, few driveways etc etc, are done, in the quite areas FIRST where they can ‘get away’ with such.
Now the more difficult YET most needed are left, thus will be far, far slower than the first lied about expected coverage.
See this council for what it really is.
Done the road round the corner from my house yet our road is just as bad but didn’t bother with it
Ahh yes, the ol’ ‘make huge, utterly impossible to achieve promises’ then water it down a little at a time until you are left with a sorry-arsed tatters of a mess and then slap yourself on the back for a good job well done. And HUGE profit gained, of course.
Will be the same with penn y f eather. They will promise all the extras to tempt and then fool the gullible , but all will really happen is the social housing quota will be increased over time.
Watch and see.
Oaky Field, you are correct. These promises of doctors, playgrounds, community centres etc fool a lot of people.
They hear of this mass building and imagine their children then leaving home, moving into a brand new home with all the grandchildren enjoying modern facilities and more, and living in a little paradise when seeing the ‘Artist Impression’
Yet in reality, more social housing will be shoe-horned into the plans, so that IF you are lucky enough to gain a home, your neighbours will be so close you will hear, smell and see sights you used to have to pay to witness at a Zoological park.
Many filling these homes will be from ‘in ner cit ies,’ and will make the rubbish we have here now appear to be the Ideal neighbour or tenants.
Some have a lot to learn, sadly though by the time they do, it is all ‘too late.’ The lasting damage, with time, will grow ever worse, as these citizens then have offspring of their own from puberty onwards ensuring rapidly advancing destruction of what is left of our once beautiful countryside and quality of life.
And there already cracking LOL Be better building bridge with the money
They cannot fill a pothole correctly, no chance of them building a bridge.
Do they know what a bridge is!
Looks like another quality bodge
Airport run ways next?
Complete shambles!
If the island is only 30 miles or so wide, how can there be more than 30 miles of road??
WOT
I wonder when Seaview with some of the highest Council Tax payers on the Island will get their roads done. I think Island Roads are not up to the challenge unfortunately
Someone made the comment Do they know where Ventnor is? Castle Close has a high volume of traffic and is in a very bad state. In some places it is subsiding , there are dangerous dead overhanging trees and the pavement is in such a bad state that you have to walk in the road . It serves, Steephill Court Road and Castle Court, a lot of expensive homes paying a lot of Council tax , and yet they resurface Undercliff Gardens a cul de sac with only a handful of properties .