Demolition works on the upstream side of Pulrose Bridge in Douglas has begun.

The Department of Infrastructure said that electrical services had been successfully temporarily rerouted on the downstream side of the bridge.

Gas mains have been decommissioned and removed, with gas now being fed into Pulrose via a main pipe which begins from Groves Road.

Water mains for Pulrose has been temporarily rerouted during the roadworks.

The DoI also said that many of the services that run under Pulrose Road from the river to the junction to Peel Road had been replaced and relocated.

Demolition of the upstream side of the bridge began on Monday.

Before work started, officers from the Department of the Environment, Food and Agriculture ’de-fished’ the river near bridge and moved the fish downstream.

A dam was created to divert the river away from the part of the bridge being demolished, meaning that debris from the bridge can be recovered without washing down the river.

The DoI said: ’The bridge is being demolished one half at a time. Once the upstream side has been demolished and then rebuilt, the downstream half will be demolished and rebuilt. It is being done this way to ensure that the utilities (including the supply services to and from the Douglas power station) are maintained.

’It also means that we are generally able to maintain access for pedestrians across the bridge between Pulrose and Peel Road. The only exception will be when operations are underway where allowing pedestrian access would be hazardous.’

Before work was allowed to start on Tuesday, DEFA staff ’electro fished’ the area, removing all fish unharmed.

The river was reported to be in a very healthy condition, with fish found including sticklebacks, salmon parr, brown trout and eel.

Insect species such as mayfly and stonefly were also found in good numbers.