INFRASTRUCTURE Minister Phil Gawne MHK has said the department has "tough choices ahead" following a reduction in budgets.
The department will now focus on increased maintenance of the existing road network instead of carrying out major highway improvement schemes.
Minister Gawne explained: "We have significantly reduced budgets in each of the last two years and we have some tough choices ahead.
"We have decided that basic road maintenance must be our primary focus so we have cut our road improvement budgets by nearly £1.7 million over the past two years so that money can be transferred to highways maintenance where it can be better spent repairing our existing roads.
"In difficult financial circumstances it is important that people see their roads being fixed rather than money being spent on what they may perceive to be elaborate improvement schemes. That said we have retained a smaller budget for road safety schemes and relatively small targeted improvement projects.
"Clearly it is important to strike the right balance between maintenance and improvement given the very tight financial constraints under which we are currently operating."
The department has decided on a programme of maintenance and repair work which needs to be carried out – most of which stems from the extreme weather at the end of last year.
He continued: "Taking stock of the damage it's clear that many of the roads remain in a very fragile condition. Patching and pothole repair has been a vital short-term measure as the department's first priority is to keep the roads safe.
"We recognise however that such repairs do not last indefinitely and may be vulnerable to failure and also that many of the defects are due to the structural failure of the road and require more than basic patching or even full resurfacing."
The budget for improvement work was reduced from £2.3 million per year to £920,000 and then again to £620,000. The £300,000 reduction will be used to carry out the surface dressing work.
Richard Pearson, director of highways, said: "Surface dressing is recognised as one of the most cost-effective ways of slowing down the rate of deterioration if applied to the right road at the right time. It helps seal the road and prevent water ingress that can otherwise result in the total failure of the road in freezing conditions. It also restores skid resistance. In effect we are trying to preserve and protect as many roads as possible."
In the current financial year, based on load testing that shows underlying road condition, the department has plans for the following provisional programme of carriageway resurfacing and reconstruction:
- A3 Lezayre Road, Ramsey – reconstruction
- A3 Main Road, Foxdale - reconstruction
- A5 Castletown – Janet's Corner to Alexandra Bridge - strengthening
- A2 Glencrutchery Road, Douglas – stabilise/re-surface
- A5 Blackboards Bridge – strengthening (abnormal load route)
- Cooil Road, Vicarage Road to Mount Murray Back Road - stabilise/re-surface
- A1 Main Road, St Johns – reconstruction
- Victoria Road, Governors Hill to Shoprite Road, Douglas
In addition Tynwald has approved an additional one million pounds for unclassified roads and footways. Based on priorities established by visual inspection the department has established a provisional programme comprising:
- Derby Road, Peel
- Hailwood Avenue
- Glen Darragh Road
- Footways in Douglas town centre – these have the highest footfall and are in poor condition
The Department of Infrastructure would like to remind people that any road defects can be reported via potholes@gov.im or by calling 01624 686665.
