Civils contractor Octavius has secured a further £11.5m from Network Rail to continue repairing the historic Ryde Pier on the Isle of Wight.
During this phase, the private equity-owned company, formerly known as Osborne Infrastructure, will renew the permanent way railway tracks, and install new glass-reinforced plastic fencing, walkways and troughing. It will also upgrade the signalling.
Built in 1814, Ryde Pier is the oldest and, at 800m, the second-longest seaside pier in the UK. It provides a major link between the Isle of Wight and the English mainland via the ferry service which docks there. A train line operated by South Western Railway carries passengers from the pier to the Ryde Esplanade.
Harsh weather and the strong tidal waters of The Solent have damaged the pier over the years.
Octavius carried out major maintenance works to the infrastructure between 2022 and 2023. These included replacing 172m of track, and installation of a new weather screen, as well as walkways and new handrails to the platform.
Octavius programme manager Julian Wisbey said: “This award follows a successful phase of work previously completed by Octavius on this historic pier structure. It is particularly pleasing to me that we will remobilise the same team and supply partners who are already familiar with the working environment and needs of local neighbours, businesses and the surrounding community.
“We have incorporated all our learning and best practice from the previous project on the pier into our proposed planning and methodologies of this phase to ensure the project is completed at the earliest opportunity to minimise the level and duration of disruption to passenger services.”
The previous works resulted in a much needed transformation and from the outside looking in from someone who was a regular traveller at the time it was quite interesting to see some of the challenges the guys were faced with having to work under the pier in rafts and dinghies and pick their opportunities when the time and tide allowed. I suspect this next phase will not be without its challenges.