A rolling programme of work to upgrade the traffic lights at Coppins Bridge in Newport is to begin next week, bringing significant disruption to motorists until March, but work will cease completely for a period of 5 weeks around Christmas.
The work, being undertaken by Island Roads on behalf of the Isle of Wight Council, will see all the signals at Coppins Bridge upgraded to include the latest ‘intelligent technology’ to make them more reliable and energy-efficient, and to improve remote access to enable responses to changes in traffic volumes and faster fault reporting.
The programme of work will also see 4 pedestrian crossings in the area upgraded to incorporate the latest LED, low-energy technology.
The crossing between the Medina Way slip road and Fairlee Road will be upgraded from a ‘Pelican’ to a ‘Puffin’ crossing which includes smart technology that automatically extends crossing times for slower pedestrians and does not halt traffic when nobody is using it. The remaining crossings, which are already Puffin crossings, will also be upgraded to run on a lower voltage to improve energy efficiency.
The programme will be undertaken either side of Christmas to ensure the project does not impact on the main festive shopping period and will involve 7 signal sites undertaken over 5 phases, to further reduce disruption.
Much of the programme will be undertaken overnight to help limit disruption and with temporary traffic lights where required during the daytime. Where necessary these will be manually controlled to aid traffic flow. However, there will be a number of complete road closures and lane closures including High Street and part of Fairlee Road.
The schemes are the last phase of a programme under the Highways PFI to upgrade all of the Island’s traffic lights and pedestrian crossings. It was initially scheduled to be undertaken in 2019 but postponed, in agreement with the Isle of Wight Council, so as not to coincide either with the St Mary’s junction improvement or the St George’s Way widening schemes.
Work will begin on 8th November with an upgrade of the set of lights at the junction of St George’s Way and Coppins Bridge. While this is done there will be temporary signals in place, operated manually to ensure traffic is kept moving. On completion, attention will then shift to upgrading the Barton Road/High Street pedestrian crossing.
The work will then cease for the festive period between Monday 6th December 2021 and Friday 7th January 2022 and will resume again with the final phases from Monday 10th January 2022. Prior to this phase starting more communications will be issued highlighting the traffic arrangements to enable people to plan their journeys. The programme will be completed in its entirety by Friday 11th March 2022.
Keith Gourlay, Island Roads construction manager, has said:
“Clearly Coppins Bridge is an extremely busy location and the need to minimise disruption has been foremost in our planning with the Isle of Wight Council.
“There will be periods when alternative traffic arrangements will be necessary, but we are doing all we can to minimise impact including much night working and, crucially, ceasing work altogether in the run up to and over the Christmas period.
“But as all Islanders know, this is a very busy junction and we hope residents will appreciate the need to ensure the traffic signals are the most efficient, safe and effective.
“We will be working closely in the coming weeks with local businesses to discuss the arrangements around the works taking place in the New Year, particularly those in the High Street to assist with any access requirements for deliveries.
“We would like to thank residents and businesses in advance for their understanding and co-operation.”
Sigh! Shall i walk and swim to work from the Island of Ryde to the now soon to be Island of Newport? I’m sure all this work is a good idea, but maybe not ALL at the same time. Upgrading the crossings, timed perfectly for people leaving work at 7pm and the ferry arriving at East Cowes. The queue from the Roadworks adjacent to the Garage on the Fairlee Road last night at 7.15pm was back to Folly and further.
TURN ALL THE LIGHTS OFF AT COPPINS BRIDGE OR TAKE THEM OUT TOTALLY
THE TRAFFIC JUST FLOWS
DESIGNED BY SOME OVER PAID IDIOT IN COUNTY HALL
IT;S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE
With deepest apologies to the traders of Newport but this little piece of ‘news’ convinces me that my Christmas shopping will be done in either Portsmouth or on line this year. I am NOT, repeat NOT going to put up with anymore delayed journeys just so that I can be not entertained by a load of people in hi-vis clothing holding their trousers up or on their mobiles, if there at all of course.
It’s not being done during Christmas so you can do your shopping locally and support your local traders.
Myself I never shop in Newport… better to support your own towns local shops.. save petrol, shop locally. Newport has bad air, too much pollution and it is always filthy. ( in my opinion )
The phrase “significant disruption to motorists” seems to appear with depressing regularity these days usually accompanied by time scales of several months and almost always followed up by “…has overrun”.
If, as the story suggests, they have gone to so much trouble to minimise disruption why, for example, wasn’t the St Georges Way junction set when that road was closed and the lights served no purpose?
Also, had to smile when I read about “…the need to ensure the traffic signals are the most efficient, safe and effective.” – Clearly their idea of effective is ensuring that traffic has to stop at every single light.
just turn them off altogether because the traffic actually flows better without them, as for energy efficiency they could change the bulbs to led and that’s the job done
Can’t do that, its too easy. Would tax their little brains too much.
More waste of our money well done Council
Could we have the lights on the pedestrian crossing and the end of the High Street go green together. I’m fed up with being beeped at because I haven’t noticed that the pedestrian crossing light have gone green, What is the point of the delay?
Hopefully they will put them the right way round.. not like the pedestrian crossing lights at Junction of Ryde High St and St Johns Hill.. great farce.. or how abou8t how just recently Island Road line painters, painted centre road stripes and a turn left only arrow at junction of Surrey St from Well St.. Surrey St is a one way road from Well St..