A programme to survey some of the Island’s most inaccessible bridges has been completed ahead of schedule by Island Roads.
More than a dozen structures were inspected for scouring – the washing away of material such as sand and rocks from underneath the bridge – during the programme assisted by local diving company MMC Diving Services.
The results of the inspections are currently being assessed by engineers and the process will help prioritise Island Roads’ ongoing maintenance of the Island’s road bridges.
During the near-three week programme, Island Roads also answered a call by Wootton Parish Council to remove a bicycle that had been dumped in Wootton Creek. Under the traffic control necessary for the Wootton inspection, work teams also carried out required highway patching and retrieved the remaining part of the damaged milestone from the carriageway to avoid the need for a separate visit and disruption. This milestone will now be restored and relocated in a safer position.
Victoria Keefe, Island Roads structures engineer, said, “Divers from Shanklin-based MMC Diving were required either because of the depth of water or because the areas requiring assessment were difficult to access were confined spaces. They did an excellent job, the work was completed ahead of schedule and with, we hope, minimum disruption to road users.”
Structures surveyed in the programme included the bridge on the Cowes-Newport cycle track over Parkhurst Stream, Marshcombe Shute, Brading, Cedar Hill, Carisbrooke, Horsebridge Hill, Parkhurst and Wootton and Yarmouth Bridge. As the programme was run ahead of schedule, the work also included an extra inspection of Coppins Bridge, Newport