Work has been carried out to further enhance road safety and to prepare key sections of the TT course ahead of this year’s festival.
 
The Mountain Road was closed a couple of weeks ago from the Creg-ny-Baa through to Ramsey Hairpin to enable a programme of essential maintenance and improvements to take place. The work, which included the resurfacing and re-profiling of the carriageway at Keppel Gate, progressed smoothly and the road was reopened more than 24 hours ahead of schedule.
 
The Department of Infrastructure took the opportunity to complete a wide range of TT course preparations and does not intend to close the Mountain Road again prior to the TT set-up day on 29 May.
 
Infrastructure Minister Phil Gawne MHK said: ‘I’d like to thank people for their patience and understanding. The road closure allowed the Department’s workforce to carry out a number of important tasks in the most time-efficient manner possible and in a safe working environment. The safety improvements will provide year-round benefits for Manx motorists as well as for competitors and visitors during TT fortnight.’
 
The carriageway at Keppel Gate has been super-elevated to improve road safety, with 234 tonnes of a stone mastic asphalt (SMA) surface course being laid over 414 tonnes of binder course and 270 tonnes of base course.
 
The embankment on the outside of the bend at Keppel Gate has been re-graded with 600 tonnes of topsoil, while work on the inside of the corner has improved visibility.
 
The Department also painted 9.6 kilometres of carriageway edge lines from East Mountain Gate to Brandywell and 2.3km of centre lines, hatchings and junctions from Hillberry to Cronk-ny-Mona. Black and white kerbs and bridges were also repainted.
 
Ditching work was carried out from Brandywell to Bungalow Bridge and at the Mountain Mile, while approximately 700 reflective verge marker posts were reset and another 100 replaced.
 
TT signage was installed in preparation for the one-way system during the festival and the closure of the Mountain Road also provided an opportunity for the race organisers and contractors to set up safety equipment, including straw bales and foam barriers.