Roundabout work to cause six months of disruption

The details of the proposed scheme have been recently been put on display to to the public

People have been warned of at least six months of disruption to traffic flow on the main road to the airport during work to replace a roundabout.

The junction at Balthane will link a bypass road constructed as part of a new 282-home housing estate by Dandara with the 15 in Ballasalla.

Infrastructure Minister Michelle Haywood confirmed a one-way system would be in place during the scheme, which would includes drainage improvements, when work starts in early 2026.

Changes will see motorists to travel north towards Douglas, with those heading south diverted via the roundabout near the Whitestone Public House.

The Department of Infrastructure (DOI) previously said the new roundabout was "designed to improve traffic flow through the southern corridor, particularly around Balthane Industrial Estate and Ronaldsway Airport".

'Entire win'

Haywood told the Local Democracy Reporting Service it was a "major project" that was "going to cause disruption".

She said the scheme had now been designed, and presented to the public, and the department had anticipated it would take "somewhere between six and nine months" to complete but they "were hoping it would be nearer to six".

The minister said there were also "known issues over flooding" in the area, so work to "correct that drainage problem underneath" would take place at the same time to "create something that's fit for the future".

Haywood said the completed scheme would be an "entire win for the people of Ballasalla village" as they would no longer see heavy vehicles travelling through its centre to access the industrial estate.

She also confirmed the DOI had "a specialist looking at the best option for treating coal tar waste in the existing roundabout".

But added it was set to be "used as a replacement for aggregate under the bypass road", following the ring fencing of further funding after the discovery of the hazardous substance.