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Children and Young Peoples Services

Services for Adults on the Isle of Wight

Highways Maintenance


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)

Your FAQ

Question: Why is hydroblasting necessary?

Answer: The surface dressing programme was completed in April 2012. In May and July 2012 during two periods of hot weather, the material used to bind the dressing became unstable. This problem was intensified on roads with high traffic flows and heavy vehicles where the movement of vehicles over the sticky surface stripped patches of the dressing leaving a shallow pothole affecting ride quality. A short term remedial treatment of dusting was undertaken during the periods of hot weather. Hydroblasting is the next stage in the remediation, followed by patching to repair the shallow potholes.


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