Skip to main content

Isle of Wight road stability scheme ‘first’ at Niton’s Undercliff

John Peck Construction has been awarded the contract to carry out the first major road stability scheme at Niton’s Undercliff on the Isle of Wight, England’s largest island. This project is part of a major programme of special geotechnical schemes being delivered by Island Roads (made up of VINCI Concessions, Meridiam Infrastructure and Ringway) under the Highways PFI to maintain the highway at locations prone to ground movement.
February 19, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
John Peck Construction has been awarded the contract to carry out the first major road stability scheme at Niton’s Undercliff on the Isle of Wight, England’s largest island.

This project is part of a major programme of special geotechnical schemes being delivered by Island Roads (made up of 4084 Vinci Concessions, 7167 Meridiam Infrastructure and 2393 Ringway) under the Highways PFI to maintain the highway at locations prone to ground movement.

Worth in the region of €1.19 million (£1 million), the contract is one of the largest ground stability/highway projects secured by Rookley-based John Peck Construction, on the Isle of Wight.

The work at the Undercliff, where the underlying clay foundations have caused frequent and historic issues of movement, will be undertaken at three sections. In the vicinity of Undercliff Caravan Park and Woodlands, the highway will be anchored by 25m steel cables driven through the clay layers into a more substantial layer of rock. At a section above Hunts Road, more than 112 ten metre concrete piles will be inserted into the ground to strengthen the highway.  This operation involves the use of specialist equipment which seeks to adopt a quieter method of installation of the piles and limit the need for lengthy road closures.

The Undercliff scheme was originally scheduled for 2015 and was brought forward after on-going monitoring revealed greater than expected recent movement.

The initial part of the Undercliff work will involve site preparation. John Peck Construction started their stabilisation works from 18 November 2013 and these will be on-going through to 30 April 2014 to ensure they are completed outside of the main tourist season.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • New EU-Russian highway connection
    February 18, 2013
    Among the forests and lakes of Finland, one of Europe's newest motorway links is being built as a Green highway linking Europe to Russia - Adrian Greeman reports The road eastwards from Finland's capital Helsinki, along the north coast of the Gulf of Finland, has not carried heavy traffic volumes, at least until recent times. Highway seven as it is designated locally, or E18 in European nomenclature, is partly motorway but in some sections still dual carriageway or even just a single lane each way, finishin
  • Improving a key route through Florida
    November 9, 2015
    Upgrading a key route through Florida – novel construction techniques are helping widen a road in difficult geological conditions – Lucio Garofalo reports. A major road widening project underway in Florida is due for completion soon. The work will improve an important section of road, reducing congestion at peak period and cutting travel times for drivers. The US 331/SR83 highway runs for some 79km and provides an important link in Florida’s Panhandle area, as it connects with Route 98.
  • Increasing demand for geosynthetics reinforcement
    May 3, 2012
    Geosynthetics have a wide variety of uses and these include providing extra strength in highway construction. Demand for geosynthetics in the United States alone is projected to increase 4.4% per year through to 2010 to more than 727 million m². Geosynthetics, used worldwide in the highway sector for strengthening, include geotextiles, geomembranes, geonets, geogrids, geosynthetic clay liners, preformed geocomposites, geocells and geofoams. The US advances will be fuelled by a recovery in nonbuilding constr
  • Increasing demand for geosynthetics reinforcement
    April 16, 2012
    Demand for geosynthetics in the United States alone is projected to increase 4.4% per year through to 2010 to more than 727 million m². Geosynthetics, used worldwide in the highway sector for strengthening, include geotextiles, geomembranes, geonets, geogrids, geosynthetic clay liners, preformed geocomposites, geocells and geofoams. The US advances will be fuelled by a recovery in nonbuilding construction. Additionally, geosynthetics will continue to increase their use in a wider range of applications