Multi-million pound schemes to strengthen the road at two of the Island’s most unstable stretches of highway are due to start next month (November).
The projects at Bouldnor Road in Yarmouth and the Undercliff at Niton are the first of 18 geotechnical schemes to maintain the road network being undertaken by Island Roads as part of the Highways PFI.
At Bouldnor Road – the main approach into Yarmouth – the work will involve strengthening a 700-metre stretch of the highway between the Viewpoint Car Park and Yarmouth Green. 650 steel sheet piles will be driven up to 16 metres into the ground, a process called ‘soil nailing’ will also be used to stabilise the highway at the Yarmouth end of the scheme.
At the Undercliff, where the underlying clay foundations have caused frequent and historic issues of movement, geotechnical work will be undertaken at three stretches. In the vicinity of Undercliff Caravan Park and a property called Woodlands, the highway will be anchored by 25-metre steel cables driven through the clay strata into a more substantial layer of rock. At a stretch above Hunts Road, more than 100 ten-metre concrete piles will be drilled into the rock to strengthen the highway.
Both schemes – which will also see the treated stretches resurfaced and re-profiled to improve their cambers – are expected to take six months to complete and have been programmed to avoid the main holiday season where possible.
The schemes have been designed in consultation with various bodies including Natural England and Natural Enterprise to minimise the impact on the environmentally sensitive areas bordering the highways. In the case of Bouldnor Road, Island Roads will also undertake a scheme with Natural England to manage the trees and shrubs around the Viewpoint Car Park.
Another feature of the Bouldnor Road scheme is the use of specialist equipment for the piling operation. A quieter method of installing the piles will be used, which also prevents the requirement for a road closure for the entire duration of the scheme.
Affected residents and businesses in Bouldnor Road and the Undercliff will receive letters explaining the scheme in more detail as part of a range of measures to inform the local communities and travel companies about the work.
In addition Island Roads’ mobile visitor centre will visit The White Lion Inn, Niton between 09:30 and 13:00hrs and Ventnor Botanic Garden from 11:30 to 13:00hrs on Saturday 19 October and St James Square, Yarmouth on 21 October between 15:00hrs and 18:30hrs when engineers will be on hand to explain details of the work.
Paul Herbert, Island Roads Service Director, said:
“We know that the unstable nature of the highway at both of these locations has been a concern for many years. These schemes have been designed to finally bring lasting solutions to what are important parts of the Island’s highways network.
“The projects demonstrate the huge scope of the PFI and the lasting benefits it will bring to the Island. These geotechnical schemes are a key part of the PFI and we look forward to starting work elsewhere on the Island in the near future.”
