Leeson Road – the landslide-hit main road connecting the towns of Shanklin and Ventnor – could re-open within days following completion of borehole drilling.
Councillor Ed Blake, who represents Ventnor and St Lawrence, has been in discussions with officers at County Hall this week who, he claims, have stated they want the A-road re-opened by Monday 2nd December.
It was almost a year ago that a major landslide – one of the biggest ever seen in the South of England – hit the area known as The Landslip. Thousands of tonnes of earth slid towards the sea on 10th December 2023 resulting in the area being evacuated.
Leeson Road has remained closed since, save for a period in the Summer when temporary traffic lights were erected and around-the-clock monitoring was in place. During that time there were no notable movements or other incidents and the road did not have to be closed at any point.
Since early September, borehole drilling has been taking place to insert ground monitoring equipment some 100-130m below the surface. This, alongside other equipment in place, will enable accurate monitoring of any movement in the area.
Eventually, an automatic road closure system will be introduced so that the route can be quickly and safely closed should sensors pick up underground activity. It is unknown when exactly this will be installed.
In order to get the coastal route back open before Christmas, the Isle of Wight Council and Island Roads are said to be exploring ‘manual monitoring’ until an automatic system is in place.
There has been no official word from County Hall on when Leeson Road will re-open, but locals are hoping that a new month brings new hope for the town of Ventnor.
It should only be open if safe to do so,
of course the Ventnor Councillor wants
the road to be open due to family businesses.
Safety comes first though.
I hope the council is making sure that any stream running through that landslip are properly drained else there will be another landslide.
Don’t hold your breath.
It’s the magic of Christmas. I love it.
With the over night rain / floods,
I personally think it might be too risky.
What’s the betting after the recent weather
there will be another landslip.