Isle of Wight residents are calling for one of its most scenic roads to be urgently fitted with safety measures after years of erosion have left the route dangerously close to a cliff edge.
Military Road is an 11-mile stretch of tarmac that offers sweeping views of the island, running alongside its coastal cliffs. But in recent years the erosion of the area has left the road posing a “serious risk to life”, with sections of the route on the southern coast of the island now less than five metres from the cliff’s edge.
Becca Cameron, a local councillor who called a meeting to raise awareness about the road’s dangers, said urgent safety measures were needed to prevent a tragedy.
“I feel there is a serious risk to life,” she told The Guardian. “Drone footage shows how serious the risk is and how close the cliff is to the road. When a bus passes over the cliff, you can feel the vibrations. We have no warning system if the road collapses.”
In a report published last year, the council admitted there was an issue, one that was being caused by “natural coastal erosion, and water coming off the downs and forming chines [a steep sided gorge] by wearing down the soft clay and orange Wealden rock”.
Councillor Phil Jordan, Isle of Wight Council leader, said: “As local residents will be aware, we are experiencing the real effects of geological erosion on the Military Road (the A3055).
“There are three specific sites – the cliff top along Compton Down (Afton Down), and two sites between Brook and Compton Farm.
“The road along Afton Down is currently considered to be relatively stable. Work was carried out in the late 1990s which included ground anchors and 27 metre piling into the chalk underneath the road to protect it from the eroding cliff face.
“The more immediate concern is the erosion taking place between Brook and Compton Farm, known as Sites 14 and 15. This is being caused by natural coastal erosion, and water coming off the downs and forming chines by wearing down the soft clay and orange Wealden rock. This erosion process also provides the sand for our beaches at Shanklin and Sandown.”
The report suggests that a possible solution to the problem could involve rerouting this stretch inland, which would guarantee its safety for another 20 years or more.
But they warned that such a relocation effort would likely cost in excess of £20 million. Some residents have called for cheaper alternatives, including the installation of crash barriers or the introduction of lower speed limits.
A spokesperson for the council told The Guardian that a barrier would be installed in one section and emergency arrangements were in place in the “unlikely” event of an accident.
Visit England, meanwhile, is encouraging people to visit the road while they still can.
“Running parallel with the west coast of the isle, the A3055 (aka Military Road) is a road trip that should be taken sooner rather than later, as erosion along the coast could see parts of the road disappear,” it said.
“The 11-mile route may be short, but it offers a wealth of sweeping ocean views and memorable country landscapes.”
