TT road closures — how they work, crossing points and when roads reopen

For about two weeks every year, the island’s main roads close to traffic several times a day. The TT course is 37.73 miles of A-roads that link Douglas, the west, the north and Ramsey. While it’s shut, the island is split into an inside and an outside, and the only way across is to wait. This page explains how the closures work, when they typically happen, where you can get across, and how to find out when the roads reopen. The race timetable is on the TT schedule. What each section of the course is like is on the course map.

How the closures work

The roads are closed under a legal authorisation for each year’s event. For 2026 it was the Tourist Trophy Road Races Authorisation 2026, which let the organiser, ACU Events Ltd, close the course for practice, races and parades (2026 road closure notice (opens in a new tab), checked September 2026).

The notice gives maximum closure periods, not the actual times. The roads may close at any point inside the window, depending on the schedule, the weather and anything else that affects the racing. In practice that means:

• The roads can close later than the start of the window, and often reopen well before the end of it.
• A delay for mist on the Mountain or a red flag can push everything back to the end of the window.
• Contingency periods on rest days can be used at short notice. They’re announced on social media and local radio.

Once a road is closed, it’s an offence to go on it or stay on it. That includes the pavement. It’s also an offence to be in a Prohibited or Restricted Area during a closure. The areas are signed, and the official PARA document (opens in a new tab) lists them. Marshals have legal powers, so do what they tell you.

Typical closure times

The 2027 closure notice hadn’t been published when we checked in September 2026. The race schedule is out: qualifying from Monday 31 May to Friday 4 June and racing from Saturday 5 June to Saturday 12 June 2027. As a guide, here’s how 2026 worked:

Day	Mountain Road closes (from Ramsey)	Whole course closed
Daytime qualifying	8.45am	10am to no later than 9.30pm
Evening qualifying	4.45pm	6pm to no later than 9.30pm
Race day	9am	10am to no later than 9.30pm
Sunday race day	11am	12.30pm to no later than 6.30pm

On some qualifying and contingency days in 2026, the course was split into a daytime and an evening closure. Between 5pm and 6pm the whole course reopened, except for the Mountain Road from Ramsey to Cronk-ny-Mona. That hour is your chance to cross, run errands or get home.

The Mountain Road closes first

The Mountain Road, from Barrule Park in Ramsey to Creg-ny-Baa, shuts before the rest of the course, in two phases. First Ramsey to the Bungalow, then the Bungalow to Creg-ny-Baa. In 2026 the first phase started between an hour and 90 minutes before the course closure. After the racing, the Mountain can stay closed for up to an hour after the latest time in the notice. If you’re planning to watch from the Mountain, get there early and plan to leave late.

The one-way system

For the whole TT period, the A18 Mountain Road from Ramsey Hairpin to Creg-ny-Baa is one-way in the racing direction, even when it’s open. In 2026 that ran from 4.30pm on Friday 22 May to 9.30am on Tuesday 9 June, and the road was shut for most of a day at each end to set it up and take it down. Cycling on that section is banned while the one-way is in force. You can’t drive from Douglas to Ramsey over the Mountain, so use the coast road through Laxey. There’s more in riding the TT course.

Getting across the course

Crossing points

During an interval, the Clerk of the Course can let traffic cross, or drive a short way along the course, at set points. The 2026 list:

Area	Crossing points
Douglas	St Ninian’s crossroads; two places on Bray Hill; the bottom of Bray Hill (Stoney Road to Tromode Road); Peel Road from Quarterbridge to Strang Road, Union Mills
The west and north	Crosby; Barregarrow crossroads; Kirk Michael; Ballaugh; Sulby Glen crossroads
Ramsey	Glen Auldyn to Gardeners Lane; the footway at Parliament Square; Christian Street to Westbourne Road; Lheaney Road to Barrule Park
Onchan and Douglas	Signpost Corner to Bedstead Corner; Governor’s Road, Victoria Road and Second Avenue

“Can” is the important word. A crossing point opens when marshals and the Clerk of the Course say so, and only in an interval. Expect a queue, and don’t count on crossing at a particular time.

The access road

To reach the inside of the course, including Noble’s Hospital, use the TT access road. It starts on the A5 New Castletown Road near the Quarterbridge roundabout, follows the line of the old railway and passes under the course at Braddan Bridge. It’s only open to vehicles under 3,500kg and under 3.35m high, and that includes cars, small vans and bicycles. Pedestrians aren’t allowed on it during closures. The road is narrow, so the Department of Infrastructure runs it on traffic lights and gives emergency vehicles priority (Manx.News (opens in a new tab)).

On foot

There are footbridges over the course at the Bungalow, Signpost Corner and Ramsey bus station, among others. Where you can switch sides at each spectator spot is covered in where to watch the TT.

When the roads reopen

The course reopens behind an official car with a “Roads Open” sign, which drives the lap once the session has finished. Each stretch of road is open once the car has passed it. On the Mountain the sign says “Roads Open One Way”. Until the car has gone by, the road is still closed, however quiet it looks. Overtaking the car is an offence, and it also holds up the reopening for everyone (iomttraces.com (opens in a new tab)).

It takes a while to get round 37.73 miles, so the road outside your door may open a long time after the last bike has finished. Remote spots on the Mountain are usually last.

Where to find live status

• The TT Infoline on WhatsApp. The organisers’ own channel, with the schedule and road closure news. Find it at iomttraces.com/ttinfoline (opens in a new tab).
• Radio. The event station on AM 1368, Manx Radio (FM 89–103), Energy FM and 3FM all carry closure news.
• The TT’s social media, @ttracesofficial, and the TT+ live stream.
• Buses. Buses can’t cross the course while it’s closed either. Check Bus Vannin’s travel updates (opens in a new tab) for changes to services.
• Other closures. The government lists roadworks and event closures on the One.Network map (opens in a new tab), linked from gov.im (opens in a new tab). For the rest of the island’s road rules, see driving on the Isle of Man.

Not just the TT

The same course closes in August for the Manx Grand Prix and Classic TT. In 2026 the Mountain Road stayed two-way for those, but cycling on it was still banned. Roads around Castletown close for the Pre-TT Classic in May and the Southern 100 in July. Dates are on the schedule page.