A PROGRAMME of safety work to lay high friction surfacing at locations across the Isle of Wight will start on Tuesday (September 20).

Island Roads will be laying new anti-skid surfacing or replacing worn sections at more than a dozen sites in a three-week programme starting on Cowleaze Hill in Shanklin.

Work will be done at night under either a road closure or with temporary traffic lights in operation.

Bright coloured high friction surfacing (HFS) is typically applied on the approaches to busy junctions, as pedestrian crossings or at sharp bends on roads with higher speed limits.

Besides Cowleaze, HFS will be laid at the following sites:

  • Blackwater Hollow on the bends between Bridleway 41 and Birchmoor Lane
  • Calbourne Road, Newport, on the approach to Carisbrooke
  • Merstone Lane, Godshill at the approach to Bohemia Corner
  • Pyle Street, Newport, at the approach to Drill Hall Road.
  • Culver Parade, Sandown at the pedestrian crossing outside Dinosaur Isle
  • Ventnor High Street junction with Madeira Lane.
  • Marlborough Road, Ryde, at the junction with Somerset Road.
  • Berry Shute, Chillerton at the junction with Berry Lane
  • Cockleton Lane, Gurnard, at the junction with Hilton Road/Gurnard Pines
  • Whitwell Road, Ventnor, outside Ventnor Rugby Club
  • Ventnor Road at Apse Heath.

In most cases, the work will be completed in between one to three shifts, but preparation work may be required at some sites, Island Roads warned.

Because HFS must be laid in mild, dry conditions, the programme is subject to change depending on the weather.

Keith Gourlay, Island Roads construction manager, said: “Because these locations are, by their nature, busy sections of the network, we hope that working at night will reduce the impact on the travelling public.

“But we are sure residents will appreciate the need to keep the network as safe as possible, and we thank them in advance for their understanding.”