Infrastructure Minister Tim Baker has revealed the roadworks due to take place on main routes into Douglas for the coming year.

Replying to a Tynwald question from Bill Henderson MLC about when the Department of Infrastructure intended to reconstruct the main arterial routes into the capital, Mr Baker rattled off a long list of work due to take place.

Mr Baker said the department planned ’remediation work’ on a number of routes in the coming year.

’These will generally be a combination of structural work, including resurfacing and reconstruction,’ he said.

Mr Baker listed the following:

l Quarterbridge Road;

l A5, from Ballalonna Bridge to Brown Cow Hill;

l Fort North roundabout and the A5 to Ballakinnish;

Braddan School Road;

l A18, section below Ramsey Hairpin at Stella Maris;

l A2, Corrany to Hibernia - microsurfacing work;

l Richmond Hill - drainage work and surface dressing remedial work to be undertaken by the contractor.

Mr Baker said the department had a 10-year programme that was updated regularly, ’using a combination of condition surveys, strategic network development requirements and customer feedback to identify areas of improvement, intervention, rehabilitation or construction’.

He said this programme would be available to view on the DoI website shortly, but added it was a ’working document’ and subject to change.

The minister outlined future plans that included Saddle Road and Tromode Road, ’which have become increasingly important parts of the strategic network’; sections of the A2 coast road around Laxey; the A2 through Corkill’s roundabout in Onchan; Lord Street - old police station roundabout; Ballafletcher Road, areas of Johnny Watterson’s Lane and sections of Cooil Road.

They were likely to require a ’combination of reconstruction and resurfacing’ - with further site investigations planned to gauge the work required.

Mr Henderson raised concern over the state of the road in Woodbourne Road, Prospect Terrace, Ridgeway Street and Victoria Street, on the main commercial business and commuter routes into Douglas.

’On Woodbourne Road and Bucks Road, the foundations, the concrete slabs, are failing now and the road is actually sinking,’ said Mr Henderson. ’It is like driving over a field of traffic-calming measures.’

Mr Baker said the roads mentioned were ’clearly important’ and offered to discuss further any problems with those roads to ensure DoI officers investigate.

’I take his point and we will get them looked at and assessed,’ said the minister.

President of Tynwald Steve Rodan observed that Fort North roundabout at the Cooil Road junction with Castletown Road, referred to by Mr Baker, was named after former highways minister David North.

’Perhaps you will bequeath a Fort Baker, somewhere on the island,’ Mr Rodan quipped.