Work by Island Roads to upgrade traffic signals and pedestrian crossings on and around Coppins Bridge is progressing well.
The scheme, which began in November last year, has met another milestone with the penultimate phase being completed today (Fri 11) – a week ahead of schedule. As a result, there will be no daytime temporary traffic lights next week as the only required further works are for Wednesday and Thursday nightshifts only
The final phase of the work commences on 21 February. This involves the upgrade of the three sets of signals at Fairlee Road / Fairlee Link Road, Staplers Road / Snooks Hill and Medina Way / Fairlee Link Road. These signals will be replaced by temporary lights during the phase (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.
Under the project, all the signals on Coppins Bridge and its approaches will be upgraded to include the latest ‘intelligent technology’ to make them more reliable and energy efficient. The new models improve remote access enabling quicker responses to changes in traffic volumes and also faster fault reporting.
The work will also see all five pedestrian crossings in the area upgraded to incorporate the latest LED, low-energy technology.
The crossing at Link Road at its junction with Fairlee Road will be upgraded from a ‘Pelican’ to a ‘Puffin’ crossing which includes smart technology that automatically extends crossing times for slower pedestrians and does not halt traffic when nobody is using it. The remaining crossings, which are already Puffin crossings, have also been upgraded to run on a lower voltage to improve energy efficiency.
Scott Burborough, Island Roads powered apparatus manager said: “This has been a long and complex project which represents a major upgrade to the signals and crossings in the area.
“While we have made every effort to keep disruption to a minimum throughout the work, we cannot get away from the fact that Coppins Bridge is the Island’s busiest road interchange and despite our best efforts, some delays to journey times have been inevitable.
“We are really grateful to road users and the local community for their understanding and co-operation which has helped us keep the overall project on schedule and indeed to finish the current phase ahead of schedule.”
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