Delays likely during wastewater network upgrade

Motorists have been warned of possible delays during a five-month project to improve the wastewater network in the Isle of Man's capital.

The works by Manx Utilities (MU), which are due to be completed in September, involve disruption on part of the Old Castletown Road in Douglas.

The company is replacing a pumping station with a new sewer within the carriageway and the Heron and Brearley Brewery site.

MU said while there would be a single-lane system for much of the works, there would also be a number of full road closures throughout the 23-week period.

The pumping station was originally built in 1987 to serve the Heron and Brearley distribution centre, with more properties being connected over subsequent years.

The government-owned utilities provider said the update to the site would "address health and safety risks" and would "reduce running costs" by about £4,000 a year.

The project would include the laying of 492ft (150m) of a new foul sewer, constructing manholes, and rebuilding the carriageway, as well as removing the pumping station itself, the firm said.

An MU spokeswoman said it recognised the works would affect "an important arterial route" and said the firm was "committed to minimising inconvenience as much as possible".

The road will initially be restricted to a single lane with two-way traffic lights until 16 April, with the same system in place between 15 and 23 May.

Following a break for the TT races, when the road will remain fully open from 24 May to 8 June, the single lane will return from 9 to 20 June,

A full road closure will follow from 23 to 30 June.

Single lane traffic will be reinstated from 1 to 25 July, but another full closure will be in place from 25 July to 7 August.

For the final weeks of works the road will operate in a single lane from 8 to 28 August.

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