A-Z Council Services


FInd us on Facebook

FInd us on Twitter

Click here to read the One Island Magazine

Children and Young Peoples Services

Services for Adults on the Isle of Wight

Glossary00

Glossary01
Of terms used within the Highway Maintenance Section of the IWC
Engineering Department

Highway -
Road, route – (an open way (generally public for travel or transportation)
Carriageway -
A concrete, stabilised soil, tarred or
other surface for vehicles or animals to travel on
Road -
The lay term for Carriageway
Footway -
The part of the Highway reserved for pedestrians
Pavement -
The lay term for Footway
Surface Dressing -
A Wearing Surface consisting of a layer of chippings or gravel on a thin layer of fresh road tar or bitumen.
Drainage -
The Removal of water by flow or pumping from the ground or from its surface or from buildings. It may include sewerage.
Drainage Area/Basin -
A Catchment Area
Catchments -
The area drained by the watercourse
Watercourse -
A stream of water such as a river or canal, or the channel along which it flows
Catch pit -
A pit provided in a drainage system at an accessible point, to collect grit and prevent it from blocking in-accessible parts of the drains.
Kerb -
A hard stone like granite or good-quality pre-cast concrete used for bordering a road and limiting the footway.
Potholes -
Are bowl-shaped openings that usually have revelled edges and can be up to 10 inches deep. They occur when the top layer of the roadway has worn away, exposing the concrete base.
Cyclical -
A group of events that happen in a particular order, one following the other, and which are often repeated
Ditch -
A long narrow open channel dug into the ground usually at the side of a road or field, which is used especially for supplying or removing water, or for dividing land
Aquifer -
an underground geological formation or group of formations that contain water, a source of ground water for wells and springs.
Groundwater -
Sub-surface water or water stored in pores, cracks, and crevices in the ground below the water table, water below the earth's surface; the source of water for wells and springs.
TPO -
Tree Preservation Order
Culvert -
The channel or conduit for such a sewer or drain. A culvert is another word for a stormwater pipe, which is not connected up to the main stormwater system. There are generally two types of culverts - vehicle crossing culverts which are a short length of pipe running under driveways (used on roads that do not have kerb and channelling); and road crossing culverts which are pipe systems running under the road which usually take water from a stream from one side of the road to the other (under the road).
Aqueduct -
A bridge like structure supporting a conduit or canal passing over a river or low ground. A conduit that resembles a bridge but carries water over a valley
Surface water -
The runoff from unpaved or paved land or Buildings, as opposed to soil or waste water.
Water-bearing ground -
Ground below the Standing –water level
Standing Water level -
The level at which the ground water finally stands, in a hole or pit which is left open for some days.
Viaduct -

A bridge consisting of a series of arches supported by piers used to carry a road (or railroad) over a valley



Page last updated on: 06/04/2005