Important road safety work to improve skid resistance at key sites across the Island is to begin next week.
The activity by Island Roads will be undertaken by crews of 2 who have undergone recent training to help them work in accordance with latest Government advice.
The work will involve laying new anti-skid, high-friction surfacing at around 30 sites including busy junctions, the approaches to pedestrian crossings, at roundabouts, bus lanes and at traffic signals.
Work on the busiest locations will be done at night and while traffic lights will be used at some locations, in others it will be necessary to implement road closures. Information boards will be displayed at locations prior to work commencing.
Steve Ashman, Island Roads service director, said:
“Although a large part of the population has been asked to stay at home recently, we have continued work to keep roads and surrounding areas safe and properly maintained so the key people who need to get to work, especially our NHS staff and emergency services, are able to do so without delay or increased road risk.
“Though resurfacing schemes have been on hold, we have continued to undertake important tasks such as repairing road defects, keeping the streets clean and bins emptied, cutting the grass so that it does not reduce visibility and keeping the traffic signals and street lights working.
“Making sure there is the required skid resistance at the necessary sites is also an important part of keeping the network safe.”
Article continues below this advertisement
Steve said that in recent weeks, staff have reviewed working practices to ensure they could be undertaken as safely as possible and in accordance with Government guidance such as maintaining a 2-metre distance wherever possible. Staff will, at all times, also have access to all required construction industry PPE and we know that residents too will observe the correct social distancing measures in respect of approaching our staff.
He added:
“Our work falls within the construction sector where government advice is to continue with these activities. It is about balancing the need to maintain a safe network with our duty to protect our staff, their families and the wider community.
“We remain in conversations with the IW Council about resuming other highways improvement work in a way that complies with all Government guidelines and we hope to be giving more details of that work shortly.”
Would have been more use resurfacing the main roads where few are using or parked upon, DURING the lock down.
Also the anti skid, should hardly be necessary if speed freaks didn’t pull up to each junction, roundabout like they were in a race to get somewhere.
Hidden Police cameras with NO warning signs would be a more cost effective means of keeping the masses safe here, PROVIDED they were place on roads where it is unsafe to drive a little too fast, NOT on hills where they know it is easy to go slightly above the limit if going up to stay in a higher gear, or down as the engine overruns.
Bulls**t, as always.
a new way of working – actually doing something instead of propping up the shovels, smoking roll ups, chatting and occasionally and I mean occasionally, moving a spade full of rubble into a hole, then stopping for a full on tea and smoke break in the cab of the van.
That red triangle shows a person digging – when was the last time you saw anyone digging at the side of the road, or doing anything else for that matter. Usually, there is just a mile of road cones and a wheelbarrow on the pavement.
anon, I thought that red triangle showed a worker trying to put up a sunshade for their tea break.
frank – lol
There goes 1 million of the covid budget, only 8 million to go. Next is flower baskets for all town centres and sea fronts.
Got to have something to look at as we’re taken by ambulance to hospital.
The money wasted by these is scandalous they would never survive in the real world ,and totally agree with the above comments ,glad I’m not the only one to notice
iv all ways said council and island roads are leaglized criminals
every single road they have touched has already broken up never touched most of the main roads on the island look at fairley onto the racecourse the whole road is nakered it needs complete digging up foundations put in place lifting etc its never going to happen how the emergency crews have not put a complaint in i dont know…..