Isle of Wight ferry firm races to open Ryde Pier walkway for festival

Works to install it have now been completed.

However, it is not yet open to the public and there have been doubts over whether it would be ready for when festival-goers arrive.

Previously, Wightlink could only say it would be opening this summer.

Read more: Isle of Wight ferry firm prepares to open Ryde Pier walkway

Now, the firm has said it is "working around the clock", alongside contractors, to finalise the new walkway.

It said it does plan to have it open in time for Thursday, June 15.

It was recently revealed that separate works on the pier's trainline, by Network Rail, will not be completed in time for the festival.

The new walkway from the air. (Image: Photography Rue)

It means that those arriving for the four-day event will not be able to catch the train down, or up, the pier.

The new walkway, which links Ryde Pier Head and Ryde Esplanade, replaces the old tramway.

It has been built on the Victorian cast-iron piles of the old tramway, next to the railway pier.

Horse-drawn trams first carried holiday makers along the pier when the tramway opened in 1864, then steam, electric and petrol-driven trams were used.

Trams were withdrawn in 1969.

The new walkway from the air. (Image: Photography Rue)

Wightlink’s Head of Port Operations Dean Murphy was on hand to watch the final screws being driven into the last decking board.

He said: “Strollers now have their own path, away from cars and bicycles, making Ryde Pier more pleasurable for people who want to walk by the sea or travel on foot to and from Wightlink’s FastCats.

“New shelters and seats will offer everyone a chance to relax and enjoy the beautiful views across the Solent.”

The new walkway from the air. (Image: Photography Rue)

Staff at Knights Brown removed more than 350 tonnes of old steelwork, replacing them with new steel, and installed almost 3,000 decking boards (more than two kilometres of greenheart timber) and 1.5 km of decorative handrails.

The works form part of a £10 million project by the IW Council, as part of the Government’s Transforming Cities Fund to upgrade Ryde Transport Interchange.