Major disruption on one of the island’s busiest junctions will come to an end shortly.

The Department of Infrastructure (DOI) has announced the work to replace the ageing traffic lights at St Ninian’s in Douglas will be completed this week and return to full operation on Friday.

The work had been set down for a month but it looks set to be completed ahead of schedule.

A spokesman for the DOI said: ‘We are pleased to inform the public that the traffic lights at St Ninian’s will return to full operation on Friday, 15 August, at 7am.

‘All temporary traffic management measures will be removed at this time. We kindly ask all road users to drive with caution as the junction transitions back to normal operation.

‘Thank you for your patience and cooperation during the works.’

The DOI said it had to carry out the work as the current system has reached the end of its design life.

A spokesman previously said: ‘It is no longer supported by the manufacturer and it has become increasing difficult to source spare parts and to maintain.

‘The project will be undertaken by the department’s traffic light engineers. Work will include installing new signal heads, power feeds, and control equipment.

‘Groundworks including the installation of replacement poles, kerbs and tactile kerbs will be undertaken by the department’s maintenance team.’

During the works, the crossroads have been managed using temporary traffic lights with a temporary pedestrian crossing in place between the EVF filling station and St Ninians High School.

All filter lanes have been out of operation but access to the EVF filling station has been maintained at all times.

The spokesman added: ‘These works have been deliberately scheduled for the school holidays to minimise disruption.’

In March, Infrastructure Minister Dr Michelle Haywood says Rosemount in Douglas, Malew Street in Castletown and St Ninians in Douglas all need to be replaced as a matter of urgency as they were all a ‘high risk of failure’.