Isle of Wight seafront sees arrival of giant excavator

A GIANT 35-ton excavator arrived in Ventnor for piling work today - and negotiated the tricky bends of Shore Hill.

The curved road, also known as The Cascades, was closed for half an hour while the excavator made its way down the hill.

Scroll down for video and Facebook Live footage

Its job will be to install around 165, 12-metre long 'king piles' in front of the existing sea defences which have partially failed.

The excavator on Ventnor seafront. (Image: Isle of Wight County Press)

This will then be backfilled and capped with concrete to encapsulate the badly corroded sheet piles.

The king piles and backfill material will start to arrive on site next week.

Works will begin at the western end of the seawall failure (by the skatepark). Each section will be completed individually before moving further east.

See below for video of the excavator being prepared to go down to the Esplanade.

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To walk from Ventnor to Bonchurch along the coastal route, walkers have to divert up by Ventnor Winter Garden and back down at Wheelers Bay.

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