Motorists face significant disruption on the Isle of Wight’s busiest route later this year, with lengthy lane closures on the dual carriageway confirmed as part of a major 6-month bridge maintenance project beginning in September.
Island Roads has confirmed that work on Medina Way in Newport will get underway on 28th September, with the project expected to continue for approximately 6 months. As previously reported by Island Echo, the major works had originally been expected to begin in September 2025 but were pushed back by 12 months.
The biggest impact for motorists will come when the dual carriageway is reduced to a single lane in one direction for around 5 weeks at a time.
A southbound lane closure is currently expected to begin in mid-November, before a planned break in the works over Christmas and New Year. A northbound lane closure is then expected from mid-January, again lasting approximately 5 weeks.
Importantly, the northbound and southbound restrictions will not be in place at the same time. One carriageway will remain unrestricted while work takes place on the other bridge deck. Nevertheless, the restrictions are expected to cause delays on a route which carries around 28,500 traffic movements every day.
The project will see all 16 existing bridge bearings replaced and 2 additional bearings installed.
Bearings sit between the bridge deck and its supports, allowing the structure to safely expand, contract and move as a result of traffic and changes in temperature.
Replacing them is no straightforward task. The bridge deck will have to be temporarily lifted and supported using specialist jacking systems while the existing bearings are removed and their replacements installed.
Detailed structural assessments have found that while the bridge is supported on the temporary jacks, it cannot safely accommodate the traffic loadings it would normally carry – making the lengthy lane restrictions necessary.
Project Manager Luke Ward has said:
“Medina Way Bridge is the largest highway bridge structure managed by Island Roads and replacing the bearings is a highly complex engineering operation.
“The bridge supports around 28,500 traffic movements daily and, unlike many maintenance activities, these works require the bridge deck to be temporarily lifted and supported on specialist jacking systems while the existing bearings are removed and replaced.”
The jacking operations themselves will be undertaken during phased nighttime closures.
Further phased nighttime closures will be needed for other elements of the scheme, including localised resurfacing and the installation of movement joints.
Luke has added:
“We fully appreciate that reducing Medina Way to a single lane in one direction will cause delays and disruption. However, these restrictions are a direct consequence of the temporary structural limitations that exist while the bridge is supported on jacks and the bearings are being replaced.
“We have carefully considered alternative options, but there is no reasonably practicable way of carrying out these works safely without implementing temporary lane closures.”
The scheme has been in development for the past 2 years, with specialist bridge engineers carrying out detailed inspections and assessments and considering how the bearings could be replaced while keeping traffic moving.
Medina Way has played a pivotal role in moving traffic through Newport for more than half a century. The relief road first opened to traffic in 1975, transforming journeys through the county town and providing the key north-south route that remains heavily relied upon today.
Wonder how many times the floating bridge will have problems & be stopped during this time!!
No excuses, perfect time to install speed cameras
I am not to sure if the SO called authorities on the island
have ever heard of installed speed cameras.
Take a trip to Khan’s London and you will see how effective
they are, great cash cow and they save lives by MAKING vehicles
drive slower.
London also has Cycle Lanes something else the island lacks.
NOW FOR THE BEST BIT
“THEY ALSO DON’T ALLOW VEHICLES PARKING ON PAVEMENTS”
and any works being done down many roads need permission
UNLIKE THE ISLAND WHERE A TRUCK JUST TURNS UP STAYS THERE
ALL DAY UNLOADING MATERIALS ETC
Take a trip, no doubt you can claim your Ferry or Train expenses.
Well worth a visit, you ALL might learn something.
Well the best thing you can do is go back to London the story is about a road closure not speed
I am getting the “20mph is plenty out there”.
It is coming, get ready for it.
You might eventually learn what a bell end you are and give up trolling anything to do with traffic to suppress your mummy daddy issues you had as a kid.
Bring it on can’t wait……
A friend of mine lives in Kent and they currently
have a 10 day closure with a 31 mile diversion.
The joys of living on the Isle of Wight
31 mile diversions never happen, numpties moan
about a few, why I don’t know the majority drive through
most road closures, hence the need for CCTV
Off out to walk the dog in the sea, on a lead of
course.
Lol
You have a friend?
I have many friends who are not numpties.
Not more road disruption? Haven’t Islanders had enough for a while? The biggest worry however, has to be access being obstructed to the hospital.
If they must cause more disruption like this then it needs to be over fast. They need crews on it 24 hours a day seven days a week to get the work done as quickly as possible!
6 Months is too long as Islanders have suffered enough already!
It doesn’t work like that.
Perfect time to install speed cameras something this island is
shy of doing.
Bless them
Speed cameras were tried on the Island, they didn’t work and were abandoned. The real problem on the Island is drink & drug driving which cameras will not address!
You are quite right about drink & drug driving
but speeding also need tackling.
The right speed camera”s would work.
I don’t mean the silly ones that numpties could
place a bag over or they ran out of film.
I mean the real deal speed camera’s that
the Big Smoke uses.
Also Van’s driving around with camera’s on
and plod standing along speeding hot spots with
radar guns.
They are only unpleasant if one breaks the law, if
driving safely within the law nothing to worry about.
What is it with your (misuse of) apostrophes?
What’s an apostrophe amongst friends
Lol
Yes, let’s leave it til its damaged to the point it has to completely shut.
Or is the delay due to finding the parts
It’s good it’s being done, taking 6 months is a joke though. Why can’t we follow the rest of Europe with efficiency, why are all these companies run by people wanting to grab as much money as they can, why are the local councils around England not enforcing timeframes. Is this a difficult job? sure, should it take 6 months? no!
Chances are it won’t take 6 months and they know it but it makes them look efficient when they announce it’s done in a shorter time. What gets me is so called “specialists” are used in almost all cases where anything bigger than a pot hole needs to be done by Island Roads. Every job that’s undertaken by subcontractors gets percentage upon percentage piled on top. Why haven’t Island Roads got the appropriately skilled people to do the work themselves and why should the local tax payer have to pick up the bill for all these “specialist” contractors that get constantly brought up in these reports?
As per IR haven’t got a clue
Only on the island do all the ‘relief roads’ and ‘bypasses’ funnel all the traffic onto one roundabout.