Island road deterioration ahead following budget cut

The island is a month away from resolving the pothole problems

The state of the Isle of Man's roads could deteriorate due to budget cuts, the Director of Highways has warned.

Richard Pearson said funding levels were currently £5m short of the amount required to maintain the status quo.

Last year, the department spent £13.5m on road repairs and in the coming year £15m has been allocated.

Mr Pearson added: "I would envisage a slight deterioration but funding from other schemes will have to be moved to supplement the road maintenace budget".

Despite the financial concerns it is estimated the island is about a month away from resolving the pothole problem caused by the severe winter weather.

The island's roads were badly hit when the temperature fell below freezing for a period of about two weeks.

In January, pothole reports from the public in the Isle of Man rose five times from an average of 100 a month to 500 a month.

Each pothole costs in the region of £30 to £100 to fix and there are currently 10 teams with two Jet Patcher machines working on the roads.

Mr Pearson said: "I have no doubt the island's roads will be ready for the TT races in June. Before racing we do a careful inspection with the clerk of the course and the race organisers- any defects are sorted out promptly".