The A18 Mountain Road will remain closed overnight, with the Department of Infrastructure (DoI) saying the 14-mile stretch between Creg Ny Baa and Ramsey Hairpin continues to be unsafe for traffic.

While some sections of the Mountain are ‘virtually snow free,’ others remain extremely slippery due to lingering snow, the DoI said.

‘Conditions across the 14 miles… vary tremendously and while some areas are virtually snow free, others are still in poor condition and remain extremely slippy due to snow, meaning the route as a whole is unfit for traffic,’ Highway Services confirmed.

The temporary closure, initially enforced by police at 5am on Friday due to wintry weather and poor visibility, had already been extended several times, first until 1pm, then until 3.30pm, as conditions proved too variable to safely reopen.

In earlier updates, the DoI stressed that temperatures were rising and snow was turning to rain, which would help improve conditions.

However, further salting of the road was deemed ineffective.

Two photographs taken at 11.40am on Friday, at the Bungalow and at Hailwood’s Rise, showed markedly different conditions just a few hundred metres apart, highlighting the difficulty in assessing safety along the full route.

A further inspection of the Mountain Road is planned for early Saturday morning, well before the extended 10am reopening.

Access to the Creg Ny Baa Hotel remains available from Douglas, Onchan, and Laxey.

The DoI has previously warned that webcams along the road provide only a snapshot and do not reflect conditions over the entire 14-mile stretch, with areas to the north of the Bungalow reported to be worse.