Service Description: Road repairs are undertaken to extend the residual life of the network and improve riding quality. There are 492 miles of roads, together with pavements (footways) and paved pedestrian areas on the Island that we try to ensure are properly maintained and safe to use. These include defect inspections by resident inspectors at set intervals, as well as mechanised surveys that help to establish structural and surface condition of the roads. Every year a programme is drawn up of major repairs based on the views of County, Town and Parish Councillors, along with community views and reports from Highway Inspectors. Priority is give to those roads that are in urgent need of repair, and have the most use. The Isle of Wight Council is responsible for protecting the public from dangers caused by the misuse and abuse of the highway; these can be obstructions on the highway such as overhanging trees, overgrown hedges and unauthorised skips and scaffolding.
Also known as:- Carriageway and Footway Maintenance, Carriageway Reconstruction, Cats Eyes, Charity Permits, Damaged Road Signs, Defects, Faulty Streetlights, Highways Defect, Obstructions, Ragwort (On Highways Verges), Re-Kerbing, Re-surfacing, Repainting Lines, Roadside Ditches, Sandbags, Wasps-Public Land (Defect)
Answer: Structural Maintenance involves reinforcement of the highway and the maintenance staff regularly carry out repairs to the underlying structure of the road or pavement rather that just to the visible appearance of the surfacing material. Inspections and Surveys are carried out to determine when work is necessary and before the foundations of the road fail completely as restoration work is very expensive. Repair methods range from various different methods, from improving the skidding resistance of the surface and providing a waterproof covering, through to complete reconstruction of the road and/or pavement/footway. Structural maintenance schemes on the Island are assessed and prioritised on a needs basis. The numbers of schemes funded depend upon the available budget in any financial year.