A MAJOR Isle of Wight road is set to close for highway improvement works from today (Monday).

UPDATE: Traffic chaos as main Sandown road closed and diversion route at standstill

Sections of Lake Hill, and Broadway, Sandown, are both due to be upgraded this month.

This work was previously scheduled for last month, but postponed.

At each location, Island Roads says excavations are required to address the underlying ground conditions which have caused the highway to deteriorate in some areas.

In some cases, these excavations may be deep.

Though this means the sites will be closed as through roads for the duration of the work period, Island Roads believes the need for future maintenance should be reduced.

Lake Hill and Broadway are due to be improved between Brownlow Road and The Heights in work scheduled to begin today. 

They are expected to last five working days.

Alternative routes via Perowne Way, The Fairway and Avenue Road will be signposted during the closure.

Then – in work scheduled to begin on March 25, and lasting four days – sections of Broadway, Sandown will be upgraded.

Once again, the road will be closed as a through route between Beachfield Road and Avenue Road.

An Island Roads spokesman said: “We are continuing to undertake extensive work at this time of year.

“We have scheduled these schemes, on what is a busy main route, to be completed ahead of the Easter holiday.

“We do recognise that, as important as it is, work of this nature does inevitably cause some disruption, so we would like to thank residents in advance for their co-operation and apologise for any inconvenience.”