Leeson Road project shortlisted for national awards

Posted on: July 29, 2025 at 9:38 am

Work to re-open Leeson Road at Ventnor has been shortlisted for two national awards.

The project, completed in December last year when extensive monitoring equipment was installed and a plan to manage the ongoing risk of further landslips was agreed, has been shortlisted in the Winter Maintenance and Resilience category of the Highways UK Awards.

The collaboration between the IW Council, Island Roads and other industry partners has also earned a shortlisting in the Collaborative Partnership category of Highways UK Excellence Awards.

Earlier this year the project was also commended at the annual Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation Awards.

A feature in all the award entries has been the high number of female engineers taking leading roles in the project.

The Highways Awards finals will be held in September in London and the finals of the Highways UK Excellence Awards in Birmingham in October.

Michelle Love, IW Council Service Director Highways and Community Protection, said: “The Leeson Road landslip was a hugely difficult time for the local community. The challenge for the project team was to ensure the understandable requirements of residents and businesses to re-open the road as soon as possible were balanced with the need to maintain public safety. These award nominations suggest that we managed to do that.”

Island Roads Project Manager Jo Saunders, said: “These short-listings demonstrate that the Isle of Wight is capable of delivering complex engineering solutions which is a positive message to send out to the UK engineering industry.”