Photo showing a section of the newly resurfaced road in York Avenue outside the garage on the approach to Osborne House in East Cowes

Updated: 29 June 2021

A  major project to improve York Avenue – the gateway route in and out of the town – has now been completed.

Since March, Island Roads has been excavating and then rebuilding the foundations to ensure the road remains in good condition for years to come. The final resurfacing element finished on 27th June and all traffic management has been removed meaning vehicles can once again use the route which also serves the Red Funnel ferry terminal.

The scheme was hampered by the need to dig out more ground than anticipated in order to lay firm foundations: in all an additional 540 square metres of full-depth excavation was needed as well as the 3,285 square metres planned.

The project also uncovered some unmapped and shallow services and  we have worked with utility companies to allow them to upgrade their infrastructure during the scheme. In doing so, the expectation is that the need for future excavation by utility companies will be reduced.

All the additional work did mean that the scheme took around two weeks longer to complete than scheduled. Other unforeseen factors including emergency utility works and disruption to ferry services also added to the disruption. Several shifts were also lost to unseasonal weather during the scheme.

We would really like to thank the local community for their support and understanding while we carried out the work. It was a challenging scheme in many ways, and the co-operation of local residents and businesses including Red Funnel was crucial to its delivery.

Now the work is finished, we will be looking to schedule repairs for after the peak summer season on some sections of the diversion route which are necessary because of the extra traffic placed upon them.

We will also be completing lining work on the newly resurfaced roads.

Further information

We hope you find the info on this page useful. If you have any questions, then please email info@islandroads.com.

Key documents

Residents’ letters:

Residents’ letter – February 2021

Residents’ update 5 March 2021

Residents’ update 12 March 2021

Residents’ update 30 March 2021

Residents’ update 9th April 2021

Residents’ update 16th April 2021

Residents’ update 20th April 2021

Residents’ update 23rd April 2021

Residents’ update – 30th April 2021

Residents’ update 15th May 2021

Residents’ update 18th May 2021

Residents’ update 21st May 2021

Residents’ update 28th May 2021

Residents’ update 4th June 2021

Residents’ update 11th June 2021

Resurfacing letter to residents

Residents’ update 18th June 2021

Residents’ update 21st June 2021

Residents’ update 25th June 2021

Residents’ update 30th June 2021

Frequently Asked Questions:

Frequently asked questions

Phasing plans:

York Avenue works – phasing plan

Diversion routes:

Diversion routes – phase 1

HGV diversion route – phase 1

Diversion routes – phase 2

HGV diversion route – phase 2

Diversion routes – phase 3

Diversion routes – phase 4

Diversion routes – resurfacing phase 1

Diversion routes – resurfacing phase 2

Press releases:

Press release – East Cowes gateway route to be improved – 17 February 2021

Press release – East Cowes thanked as scheme completes – 27 June 2021