News

4th July 2008

DEPARTMENT TO SHOW DRAWINGS OF NEW ROUNDABOUT SCHEME AT QUARTERBRIDGE

The Department of Transport is pleased to announce that the drawings for the new Quarterbridge roundabout scheme will be displayed at a public exhibition in the main foyer at the Sea Terminal from 3pm until 7pm on Thursday 3 July 2008 and from 10am until 12 noon on Saturday 5 July. Officers will be on hand to answer any questions. Comments from the public on the proposed new roundabout will be welcomed and fully assessed by the Department prior to the submission for planning approval.

Quarterbridge is a strategic junction which serves traffic travelling to and from Douglas town centre from the South and West of the island. In addition, it is used as a route by traffic travelling to the National Sports Centre, Outer Douglas and Onchan.

The present mini roundabout layout was constructed in 1986 but it is no longer able to accommodate the current volumes of traffic particularly during peak hours when there is congestion and delays on most approaches. The Quarterbridge junction has the highest frequency of recorded accidents on the Island. In the past 5 years from 2003 to 2007 there have been 20 accidents at the junction, mainly slight and damage only.

The Department proposes to replace the two mini roundabouts with a single large oval shaped conventional roundabout. The new layout has been constrained to some extent because of the position of a number of ‘A’ grade trees on Quarterbridge Road adjacent to the river bank. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry advised that these trees were important and should be retained. Whilst this has pushed the roundabout slightly to the south at least it will retain the existing racing line for TT competitors. However it will necessitate the demolition of the Quarterbridge pub, realignment of the approach roads, and new road bridge over the river. The southerly section of the roundabout will be used during TT road closures to permit traffic to drive between the TT Access Road and Peel Road to and from Douglas town centre. This would relieve the pressure on the existing bypass arrangement through Groves Road.

Subject to receiving planning approval, Treasury concurrence and Tynwald approval the £4,085,000 capital scheme is programmed to commence on site in 2010 with completion by 2012.