UPDATED WITH VIDEO: Emergency services are this afternoon (Tuesday) attending an incident on Avenue Road in Sandown, where a lorry has collided with the railway bridge.
sland Line train services have been suspended over fears of the safety of the bridge structure.
UPDATED @ 16:53 – The trailer of a George Jenkins Transport lorry has become twisted after colliding with the railway bridge.
The collision has resulted in a large section of concrete falling to the ground, missing a passing car by inches. It is understood the bridge has moved by around 2ft.
Thankfully, nobody has been injured in the incident, which has resulted in the closure of the road between Yabridge and The Broadway.
Motorists are being diverted. Southern Vectis bus routes are effected.
UPDATE @ 17:51 – Railway engineers from the mainland are this evening en-route to the incident at Morton Common to assess the bridge’s stability and to determine how much damage has been caused.
Hard road closures are being put in place on Perowne Way, Morton Common and Avenue Road as it is expected the main Sandown to Ryde road will remain closed for several hours.
UPDATE @ 19:55 – Engineers are tonight examining the bridge and lorry with talks of cutting a section of the bridge away to allow the lorry and trailer to be moved.
The road remains closed and is likely to remain so for several hours.
Marshcombe Shute has now been made two-way to allow traffic to enter and leave Sandown. The road has been one-way towards Yaverland for the past week due to works on the road bridge.
UPDATE @ 23:06 – The lorry and trailer unit have been successfully removed from underneath the railway bridge this evening, without any further incident.
Recovery specialists detached the two units before lowering and leveling the damaged trailer, then taking it clear of the bridge.
A section of concrete, on the opposite side of the road to the already fallen piece, has been purposely demolished as it posed a risk to public safety. On lookers were moved to a safe distance as a line was wrapped around the concrete before it was pulled to the ground.
Teams have arrived at Morton Common to break up the concrete and remove the debris with engineers now conducting further checks of the railway line and bridge.
Island Line have said that train services will remain suspended until at least 11:00 tomorrow (Wednesday).
Morton Common, Perowne Way and Avenue Road remain closed however traffic can now travel in both directions on Marshcombe Shute.
It is hoped the road will reopen tomorrow morning.
Southern Vectis buses are accepting Island Line/South West Trains tickets until further notice.
UPDATE WEDNESDAY: Morton Common, Avenue Road and Perowne Way have been reopened this morning in both directions.
Temporary traffic lights remain at Marshcombe Shute until 09:00 today to help ease traffic flow.
A rail replacement service is in operation between Ryde St Johns and Shanklin for Island Line customers. Buses will run hourly in each direction until further notice. Island Line tickets can also be used on Southern Vectis’ Route 2 and 3 bus services.
UPDATE WEDNESDAY @ 12:15 – Island Line services are now running to timetable between Ryde and Shanklin.
Rail tickets will no longer be accepted on Southern Vectis buses between Shanklin and Ryde.
UPDATED VIDEO:
