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

  • Tuen Mun to Chek Lap Kok tunnel connection
    January 24, 2017
    It is not only the scale of the Tuen Mun to Chek Lap Kok tunnel that impressed delegates but the number of novel technologies that Dragages Hong Kong, a Bouygues Construction subsidiary, is employing on this project The 4.6 km tunnel running 60m below sea level is part of a strategic new route linking Hong Kong’s airport on Lantau Island and the New Territories.
  • Tuen Mun to Chek Lap Kok Tunnel project
    December 22, 2016
    It is not only the scale of the Tuen Mun to Chek Lap Kok tunnel that impressed delegates but the number of novel technologies that Dragages Hong Kong, a Bouygues Construction subsidiary, is employing on this project. The 4.6 km tunnel running 60m below sea level is part of a strategic new route linking Hong Kong’s airport on Lantau Island and the New Territories. Dragage’s contract includes reclamation of 16.5-hectares at the tunnel’s north end to accommodate the north portal and a ventilation building. Wo
  • Cat paver helps ''safeguard Venice''
    July 23, 2012
    For centuries Venetians had given in to the Adriatic Sea, learning to celebrate its unique challenges rather than trying to hold back its tides, but that is changing. Built on an archipelago of 118 islands, with over 150 canals and over 400 bridges connecting the islands, visitors and residents to the old lagoon city travel only by water or on foot: it is considered Europe's largest car-free urban area. So the sight of a state-of-the-art Caterpillar AP655D asphalt paver is unusual, but it is assisting in a
  • Safety upgrade for Canadian highway
    February 20, 2012
    New machines from Dynapac have played an important role in tackling a stretch of Canadian highway with safety issues. The machines have been used to meet experimental compaction standards specified by highway engineers, so as to withstand Canada's harsh winter conditions. Canadian contractors InterCite Construction and Pavex of St Felicien have used the new Dynapac machines for work on upgrading Route 175, one of Canada's most dangerous highways, located in the Province of Quebec. Route 175 is a 174km long