taking our culture forward

Governor’s Bridge was originally known as ‘Heywood’s’ or ‘The Deemster’s Bridge’, named after Deemster John Joseph Heywood who owned Bemahague – now Government House – in the first half of the 19th century. It gained its present name as a marker for the T.T. when the T.T. course was amended to include the bridge in 1920. The work shown in these photographs is part of the Governor’s Bridge Improvement Scheme, carried out in 2008. The Bemahague road leading towards Governor’s Bridge was considered inconsistent in its width, which posed problems for lorries, buses and coaches when they passed in opposite directions. There were also issues with visibility and pedestrian road-crossing facilities on the approach to the mini-roundabout. A wider carriageway was developed through land adjacent to Government House, and the mini-roundabout was replaced by a full-sized roundabout in order to cater for large amounts of traffic at peak travel times.