Southern Water have confirmed that they are to return to Newport Road in Cowes to carry out a further 3 weeks of roadworks as the newly installed water main has failed stringent testing.
Despite all the work that have taken place between Northwood Garage and Three Gates Road over the past 18 months, the water company say they need to carry out critical works to excavate a 100-metre section of the road in order to reduce bursts and improve water supply to homes.
Contractors will return to the site from Monday morning (26th June) when they will be working on a 40-metre section near to the Somerton roundabout. This will require the road closure of a short section of Three Gates Road, from the roundabout junction to the entrance of Bookers.
Then, from Monday 3rd July for 2 weeks, work will continue south off the Somerton roundabout for a further 60 metres along Newport Road. During the day, the northbound lane on this section of Newport Road will be closed and northbound traffic (towards Cowes) will use the opposite carriageway. Southbound traffic (away from Cowes) will be diverted via Enterprise Way.
During the evening, between 19:30 and midnight the traffic restrictions will change for northbound traffic, with a full closure of this section of Newport Road. Northbound traffic will then use a local diversion route during these hours, while southbound traffic will continue to use Enterprise Way. This change to the northbound traffic flow will allow the working area to be enlarged for essential operations during the off-peak hours.
Parking restrictions will be in place along Enterprise Way and these will be strictly enforced during the work.
A spokesperson for Southern Water has told Island Echo:
“We have already carried out extensive work in the area and appreciate any delays that arise are frustrating – however more work is needed before the new installed pipe can be up and running.
Article continues below this advertisement “The pipe hasn’t passed the stringent testing required, so we need to continue working on Newport Road over a three-week period, starting from Monday 26 June. This is to inspect for structural faults and re-lay the sections of pipe until the fault is identified.
“We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused by these works but we are working closely with the Isle of Wight Council and Island Roads to minimise disruption”.
