three lane road with traffic lights on red at the junction with Coppins Bridge roundabout, greenery and trees in the background and some houses

Update 19th February 2022

Final phase of works

A rolling programme of work to upgrade the traffic signals at Coppins Bridge in Newport is entering its final phase, with work on the remaining three sets of traffic signals at Fairlee Road / Fairlee Link Road, Staplers Road / Snooks Hill and Medina Way / Fairlee Link Road taking place from Monday 21 February.

During the work these signals will be replaced by temporary lights (manually controlled at peak times) and there will also be a temporary pedestrian crossing on Fairlee Link Road.

The main impact on traffic will be the closure of Fairlee Road between Fairlee Link Road and the Staplers Road junction for the duration of work. Traffic entering Snooks Hill/Coppins Bridge from the Whippingham/Wootton/Ryde area will need to use the official diversion via Staplers. To assist traffic flows, the lights at the junction of Staplers/top of Snooks Hill will be turned off.

The Link Road will be open as usual for traffic wanting to enter the dual carriageway (towards Cowes and the West Wight) from the Whippingham/Wootton/ Ryde areas.

The official diversion for traffic leaving Coppins Bridge for the Whippingham/Wootton/Ryde areas will be via Staplers.  Please refer to the map below:

Map showing traffic arrangements and diversions at Fairlee Road, Link Road and Staplers during the Coppins Bridge traffic signals upgrade works

The programme will be completed in its entirety by Friday 11 March, 2022, subject to any issues outside of our control including weather related interruptions.

Programme overview

The work, which started on 8 November, is being undertaken over five phases, on behalf of the Isle of Wight Council and will mean all the signals at Coppins Bridge will have been upgraded to include the latest ‘intelligent technology’ to make them more reliable and energy efficient, and to improve remote access to enable responses to changes in traffic volumes and faster fault reporting.

The project will also see four pedestrian crossings in the area upgraded to incorporate the latest LED, low-energy technology. This includes the crossing between the Medina Way slip road and Fairlee Road which will be upgraded from a ‘Pelican’ to a ‘Puffin’ crossing.  This includes smart technology that automatically extends crossing times for slower pedestrians and equally does not halt traffic when the crossing is not in use.

Much of the programme has been undertaken overnight to help limit disruption and with temporary traffic lights where required during the daytime, manually controlled to aid traffic flow.  During more complex aspects of the work lane closures have been necessary and we have been very grateful to residents for their cooperation and patience throughout the work.

The project is the last phase of the major programme under the Highways PFI to upgrade all of the Island’s traffic lights and pedestrian crossings.

More information

You can read more information in the key information links below.

If you have any questions during the work, please email info@islandroads.com

Key information: