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: There are three main methods of repair used on the Island's roads: *Resurfacing - Various techniques are employed depending on the condition of the existing road. Each process will improve skidding resistance, seal the surface to prevent ingress of water and prevent further deterioration of the top surface. In addition a number of processes will improve the structural strength, reduce tyre noise and improve riding quality. *Reconstruction - This is required when the road has reached the end of its life. Due to the way that the Island’s roads have evolved there is insufficient depth of construction in many of these, and it requires us to remove the old materials and start again, building the road up in layers. *Recycling - This process has been adopted to save on the use of new imported materials. Where the existing road structure is of suitable material, this can be reused in the new construction. The material is strengthened by the addition of cement or bitumen and relayed as a base for the road. This is then overlaid with a new surface. Specialist contractors are employed through competitive tendering for a number of these processes.