Isle of Man Mountain Road TT repairs rescheduled for spring 2022

The refurbishment work will start at the Ramsey end of the A18 Mountain Road

Plans to close the Isle of Man's A18 Mountain Road for several weeks during the summer in preparation for the 2022 TT races have been put on hold, the infrastructure minister has said.

The road, which is the main route between Ramsey and Douglas, had been due to close for five weeks from 16 August.

The carriageway will now be closed for six weeks from March 2022.

Tim Baker said the changes had been made following a consultation.

A spokesman for the Department of Infrastructure (DoI) said the one week extension was needed to account for shorter days and the potential for poor weather during the spring.

That project would include the reconstruction of the carriageway at Stella Maris in Ramsey and other essential maintenance, he said.

Some work would still take place on other parts of the road during the summer months to enable part of an island-wide programme of resurfacing by a UK contractor, which could not be carried out during the colder months, he added.

Other work during the summer will include patching between Ramsey and Waterworks and improvements to the railway crossing at the Bungalow, and temporary speed limits and traffic lights would be in force dues those works.

Mr Baker said the new project was "necessary to allow next year's TT to go ahead as well as for safe long-term use".

The revised schedule would "better support both our economic recovery and the visitor sector", he added.