A landslip-hit road in Wroxall is due to undergo temporary repairs this week with the aim of reopening the road to 2-way traffic.
The Isle of Wight Council, in collaboration with Island Roads, has developed a temporary scheme for St John’s Road, based on the initial findings of a ground investigation survey.
Due to start today (Tuesday), the works will involve removing fallen debris from the highway and building a temporary wall using concrete-filled sandbags at the base of the embankment, with suitable drainage.
The face of the landslip will also be covered in protective matting to prevent further erosion and help stabilise the area. All works will be carried out within the extent of the existing temporary traffic lights.
The council said the scheme provided the best possible temporary solution while long-term measures were developed over the coming months.
Councillor Phil Jordan, Cabinet member for highways and infrastructure, has said:
“I’m sure this is the news everyone in Wroxall and those who regularly use this busy road have been waiting for.
“These works will enable us to remove the temporary traffic lights from St Johns Road and grant our engineers time to design potential long-term options for this section of the embankment.
Article continues below this advertisement “Weather permitting, we’re hoping these remedial works will be completed by the end of the week.
“We will of course continue to monitor the embankment and should additional ground movement occur, there may be a need for temporary traffic measures to be reintroduced.”
Temporary traffic lights have been in operation since November last year when a landslip sent tonnes of debris into the highway.
As is standard in such incidents, the soil could not be moved until ground investigation works had been carried out. To do so may have caused further landslips.
Welcoming the news, local member Councillor Rodney Downer, said:
“I am pleased that a temporary solution has been found, and will relieve the disruption that Wroxall has endured these past few months.”
Taken months to get to this obvious temporary solution. This could have been done the next day after it happened. A permanent solution should be there by now.
Ok so you have no idea the different council /island roads /parish council /council insurance /home owners insurance all have to get together,do you think it’s a couple of men a bag of sand , king of wroxall ,more like the village idiot
So they are going to use ‘Concrete filled sandbags’
They should use Gabion cages. Why? Because they can be made to fit whatever width or height is needed, they are heavier, they allow water through easier, they are moveable, and in all likelyhood they could put left in situ forever.
NO Co2 as with cement, vegetation can grow in, over and between to blend in and great home for shrews, lizards and other wildlife.
So, as expected they are not using such, and have taken months to come to the conclusion that I knew anyway, that a pile of soggy slipped earth can be ‘safely’ removed without compromising the already shaky stability of the bank.
Useless, costly and pathetic.
Gabion walls are unsightly, expensive, have a short operating life of 10 years, and they are perfect homes for rats. Gabion cages are made of steel and steel production generates vast amounts of carbon dioxide.
Plenty of CO2 making the cages which rust in the sea air. You obviously have a fetish about these hideous gabions.
I think thay have had ample time to come up with a plan it’s been like this from before Christmas 2022
I don’t know who is more useless. The council or island roads. A comedy duo.
What a load of fuss about a collapsed bank. Go down the Steam Railway, buy a few lengths of old rail, cut them into suitable lengths and drive them it to form restraining piles and then build a low strengthened wall along the edge of the road and fill in behind with soil. Job done.
It’s gonna take a week! They build new cities in China in a week!
Name one city built in a week in China