Port St Mary’s potholed High Street is to be closed while a survey is carried out ahead of a proposed, and much-needed, highway improvement scheme.
A temporary road closure will be in place for up to three days from September 2 while a ground penetrating radar survey is conducted.
The village’s High Street is extensively patched, badly potholed and failing in a number of places - and has earned a reputation for being one of the worst roads in the island.
Before being appointed Infrastructure Minister, Rushen MHK Dr Michelle Haywood planted daffodils in the potholes in protest at the road’s condition.
The High Street reconstruction scheme is listed in the Budget Pink Book for ‘design and feasibility’ with funding approved to draw up a fully scoped and costed business case.
It’s been a long time getting to this stage.
A previous £400,000 scheme to revamp the road was rejected in 2023.
The highway services division had put together a business case for the reconstruction in July 2021 but this was not supported by the Department of Infrastructure and so not submitted to the Treasury for consideration.
He said site investigations and a detailed design could not be progressed until appropriate funding could be allocated.
Mr Crookall said site investigations were needed to establish if underground utilities or other structures, such as cellars, were beneath the road.
While the road closure order is for three days from September 2 to 4, this is to allow for unforeseen delays such as bad weather and the survey will actually only take one day to complete.
Pedestrian and emergency access will be retained during the road closure.