Motorists face a series of night-time road closures on main roads in Newport throughout September as electricity network upgrades get underway to help power new electric buses at Southern Vectis’ Nelson Road depot.
The works are being carried out by Connect It Utility Services on behalf of SSEN and form part of a wider programme affecting both Victoria Road and Fairlee Road, alongside Snooks Hill and Staplers Road.
According to information provided to nearby residents, the overall phase of works began earlier this week on Tuesday and will continue until the end of the month, on 29th September.
Despite many being under the impression that these works will see 24-hour closures throughout, information letters posted through the doors of houses on affected routes show that crews are aiming to work between 19:00 and 06:00, with no noisy works taking place after midnight.
Snooks Hill is scheduled to be affected until the morning of 14th September, with attention then turning to Staplers Road, where works are scheduled from the evening of 14th September until the morning of 17th September.
The wider programme will also see Victoria Road affected from the evening of 15th September until the morning of 17th September. Works on Fairlee Road are then scheduled from the evening of 17th September through until the morning of 29th September.
Information published online states that the Staplers Road works involve excavating a 30m trench across the junction carriageway to allow work to be carried out on the electricity network before it is backfilled and the road reinstated.
The network upgrade is being undertaken to provide the electricity infrastructure required for an investment of £11.7million, which is set to bring 23 new electric buses to the Southern Vectis bus depot on Nelson Road, across town.
With 31 electric buses already launched as part of its first fleet of new buses, the addition of a further 23 will make a total fleet of 54 electric buses across the Southern Vectis fleet, a goal which it aims to achieve by Winter 2027.
