Roadworks which threaten to cause weeks of distruption throughout Douglas have started in Buck’s Road and on Loch Promenades.

Temporary resurfacing of the southern end of Douglas promenades began on Friday evening and is not scheduled to be completed until April 1.

Parking is suspended on the landward side until March 11 and on the seaward side between March 3 and 18.

Buck’s Road closed to traffic between Rosemount and Demesne Road from Sunday at 7pm for gas main replacement works scheduled to last for 11 weeks.

Photographer John Maddrell captured the scene on the promenade and at Buck’s Road on Monday morning.

We reported in last week’s Examiner how the two major schemes being scheduled at the same time was set to cause turmoil.

A Manx Gas spokesman said that it had been in discussions with the Department of Infrastructure for several months over its gas main replacement project and had secured approval for the road closures before the scheme for the Promenades had been considered.

The work in Buck’s Road has been divided into three phases - Rosemount junction to Demesne Road, Demesne Road to Mona Street and Mona Street to Circular Road.

The promenade work will stretch from the Sea Terminal to Broadway and will be done in four phases, and will cost £75,000.

The resurfacing has been described as a ’short-term fix’ and will see the existing road surface planed out and a new asphalt surface laid to three metres either side of the horse tram tracks.

Phases one and two involve landward

All this come on top of other road closures around the island.

Station Road in Port Erin has been closed to vehicles between Bridson Street and Strand Road since February 3 and is not scheduled to re-open until May 3 or ’until the Station Road regeneration work is completed’ says the government’s website.

Last month we reported how this had impacted the trade of Port Erin businesses.

Owner of the Whistlestop Cafe at the railway station Judith Cain said that footfall had been unpredictable and some days trade was as much as 50 per cent down on normal for the time of the year.

Ms Cain also said that she had had to reduce some staff’s hours.

Across the road, Mantons director Chris Beards said the impact of the works has been ’pretty drastic’.

’Takings are 70 per cent down on what we would expect them to be,’ he said.

In Foxdale roadworks affecting the A3 Main Road are likely to go on beyond TT with the road re-opening during the TT but closing again afterwards.

The Examiner also asked the Manx public what they thought about all the road closures and you can read what they had to say on page 17.