Laying of KTAIP flyover deck

• 03 Aug, 2022 |

Infrastructure Malta lifted in place the first of seven steel structures of the new flyover deck of the Kirkop Tunnels and Airport Intersection Project (KTAIP), which will offer a direct route from Luqa to the Kirkop Tunnels, on Tuesday night. 

The steel superstructure of this 400-metre flyover weighing 330 tonnes was shipped to Malta last week from Seville. It was manufactured by Megusa, which has a history of 180 years and was responsible for the construction of similar structures and large bridges in Spain. Six other similar structures weighing 280 tonnes of the 225 metre flyover of Luqa Junction Project which is being built next to KTAIP, were also delivered. The two projects will reduce travel time by up to 74% in each direction along this route and will be co-financed by the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility.

Between Sunday and Monday, the project contractors transported on site the first structures of the KTAIP flyover from the Malta Freeport, and last night started lifting them in place. During the past months, they built the abutments and five concrete columns which will support the KTAIP flyover, and its approach ramps.

The laying of the Gudja flyover steel structures will continue in the coming days. When the entire deck is joined, Infrastructure Malta will complete the last necessary works to form the flyover. The agency is anticipating the opening of the new flyover towards the end of the year. In the meantime, the installation of the Luqa flyover structures is also expected to begin by the end of August.

Infrastructure Malta has completed 60% of the KTAIP. This €18 million investment will provide quicker and safer connections to Luqa, Gudja, Birzebbuga, Kirkop, Mqabba, Qrendi, Zurrieq, Safi and other nearby areas. The project also includes the redevelopment of the Gudja roundabout to introduce a new underpass to Birzebbuga and new facilities for alternative modes of travel. It will also improve access to the Malta International Airport and to the Malta Freeport, two strategic locations for many economic sectors.

The Gudja roundabout is a crossroads of several arterial roads, including L-Avjazzjoni Avenue, to and from Luqa, Marsa and Qormi; Dawret il-Gudja Road, towards Gudja and Ghaxaq; Hal Far Road, to and from Hal Far, the Freeport and Birzebbuga; and L-Ewwel Titjira Road, which links the roundabout with the Kirkop Tunnels. It also includes Il-Karwija Road, leading to the Airport and Gudja.

Works of the KTAIP started with the construction of the foundations for the new projects roads, over 300 metres of retaining and boundary walls and 330 metres of new footpaths. More footpaths and cycle lanes will be ready in the coming months. During the past months, workers have completed 70% of the excavation works for the project’s new 200-metre roundabout underpass and its two 120-metre approach ramps. They also built some of the tunnel walls and roofed a good part of the underpass which will have four lanes, two in each direction, and is expected to open by the end of the year. The whole project will be completed in the first quarter of next year.

The cut-and-cover underpass will create a direct, safer link between the southbound and northbound carriageways of L-Avjazzjoni Avenue and Hal Far Road. It will allow road users, including heavy vehicles, travelling to and from Birzebbuga, the Freeport and the Hal Far Industrial Zone, to bypass the roundabout. 

At grade, Infrastructure Malta is rebuilding the existing roundabout and its bypass lanes in an improved design to facilitate access to and from Gudja, Ghaxaq and the Airport. The third level of the intersection includes the new flyover bridging the southbound carriageway of L-Avjazzjoni Avenue with L-Ewwel Titjira Road, towards the Kirkop Tunnels. Commuters heading to Kirkop, Mqabba, Qrendi, Zurrieq and Safi will no longer need to enter the roundabout to reach the Kirkop Tunnels. 

The project will also overhaul the area’s underground services networks, including 10 kilometres of new electricity cables, Internet and other telecommunication services cable ducts, water mains, sewers and stormwater pipelines.

Lifting the first beams of the Mriehel Underpass ceiling slab

• 30 May, 2022 |

Infrastructure Malta is lifting in place the concrete beams that will support the ceiling slab of the new Mriehel Underpass.

Infrastructure Malta launched Mriehel Underpass Project in 2021, to build a 60-metre tunnel connecting L-Imdina Road with the Mriehel Bypass, at the junction next to the Malta Financial Services Authority offices. The agency is working to open this underpass to commuters at the end of September, and to finish building the new roundabout above it by the end of the year. 

In February, Infrastructure Malta completed the excavation of this cut-and-cover underpass and started erecting 290 precast concrete panels to form its walls. On Tuesday, workers lifted in place the first of 16 prestressed concrete beams, each weighing six tonnes, that will support the tunnel roof.  

When the tunnel is ready, Infrastructure Malta will continue the project with the new roundabout above it, as well as new pedestrian and cycling crossings and landscaped areas.

Just like Santa Lucija Roundabout Underpass Project was developed to extend the benefits of Marsa Junction Project along the main route to southern Malta, Infrastructure Malta planned Mriehel Underpass Project to augment the positive impacts of Central Link Project in Attard, Balzan, Birkirkara and Mriehel.

The two-lane underpass will form part of a new roundabout intersection that is replacing the old traffic lights system at this important crossroads between Balzan, Birkirkara and Mriehel. Through this tunnel, the main eastbound traffic flows, from L-Imdina Road, Balzan towards the Mriehel Bypass (Royal Malta Artillery Avenue), will be grade-separated from the other flows converging at this junction.

As part of Central Link Project, in 2020 Infrastructure Malta built two new lanes to create an uninterrupted route in the opposite direction, westbound from the Bypass towards Balzan and Attard.  By eliminating the principal eastbound (new underpass) and westbound (2020 lanes) flows from the new roundabout, it is becoming quicker and safer for road users travelling to other nearby destinations, including Mriehel, Birkirkara and Zebbug (from Attard, Balzan and Lija).

As it reduces the new roundabout’s design speed and traffic volumes, Mriehel Underpass Project is also enabling the introduction of safer pedestrian and cycling crossings to link Birkirkara, Mriehel and Balzan with Il-Hofor Road, a rural road leading to Zebbug and Qormi. These roundabout crossings will further improve the connections of the four-kilometre cycling and walking infrastructure developed through Central Link Project in Ta’ Qali, Attard and Balzan.

Upgrading two major roads in Mqabba

• 18 Feb, 2022 |

Infrastructure Malta invested €2.5 million in the rebuilding of Valletta Road and Il-Konvoj ta’ Santa Marija Road, two arterial roads in Mqabba. 

The agency completed the final touches to the €1.3 million upgrade of Valletta Road (also known as Mqabba Road) last month. It redesigned this road to introduce a 750-metre footpath, since it did not previously have any safe pedestrian infrastructure. Infrastructure Malta also improved the road’s landscaped areas, with new trees and shrubs, new decorative lighting and a new automated irrigation system connected to a new 60,000-litre underground reservoir.

Before consolidating the road’s foundations and laying 1,709 tonnes of asphalt, workers installed 3.7 kilometres of underground networks including water mains, Internet and telecommunications cable ducts and electricity cables for new road lights.

Infrastructure Malta also upgraded the road’s junction with Il-Konvoj ta’ Santa Marija Road, to facilitate connections between these two roads, along the main route to Mqabba, Qrendi and other nearby areas. The agency completed the rebuilding of Il-Konvoj ta’ Santa Marija Road in the beginning of 2021. Through a €1.2 million project, it rebuilt this road and its service roads. It also improved the safety of its connections with several residential roads in the centre of Mqabba with the introduction of roundabout junctions at crossroads and other traffic calming measures.

Infrastructure Malta finished the upgrade of these two roads with the planting of 1,620 trees, shrubs and other plants.

Since it was established three years ago, Infrastructure Malta rebuilt or resurfaced another 10 residential and rural roads in Mqabba. Works in more roads in this locality are planned to start soon. 

Construction of new Mriehel Underpass walls in progress

• 16 Feb, 2022 |

Infrastructure Malta is entering a new stage of the Mriehel Underpass Project, as excavation works are nearing completion and workers are now starting to build the tunnel walls.

Infrastructure Malta launched the Mriehel Underpass Project in 2021, to build a new 60-metre tunnel connecting L-Imdina Road with the Mriehel Bypass, at the Mriehel junction next to the Malta Financial Services Authority offices.

As the excavations of this cut-and-cover underpass are almost ready, Infrastructure Malta is starting to erect more than 290 precast concrete panels to form its tunnel walls. These panels will support the tunnel’s ceiling slab, which will then be covered with the new roundabout and its approach lanes, pedestrian and cycling crossings and landscaped areas.

Just like the Santa Lucija Roundabout Underpass Project was developed to extend the benefits of the Marsa Junction Project along the main route to southern Malta, Infrastructure Malta planned the Mriehel Underpass Project to augment the positive impacts of the Central Link Project in Attard, Balzan, Birkirkara and Mriehel. Now that the Central Link Project is ready and all its new lanes are open to road users, the agency’s contractors are focusing on the second project in this area, to open the new underpass in the second half of 2022.

The two-lane underpass will form part of a new roundabout intersection that is replacing the old traffic lights system at this important crossroads between Balzan, Birkirkara and Mriehel. Through this tunnel, the main eastbound traffic flows, from L-Imdina Road, Balzan towards the Mriehel Bypass (Royal Malta Artillery Avenue), will be grade-separated from the other flows converging at this junction.

As part of the Central Link Project, in 2020 Infrastructure Malta built two new lanes to create an uninterrupted route in the opposite direction, westbound from the Bypass towards Balzan and Attard.  By eliminating the principal eastbound (new tunnel) and westbound (2020 lanes) flows from the new roundabout, it is becoming quicker and safer for road users travelling to other nearby destinations, including Mriehel, Birkirkara and Zebbug (from Attard, Balzan and Lija).

As it reduces the new roundabout’s design speed and traffic volumes, Mriehel Underpass Project is also enabling the introduction of safer pedestrian and cycling crossings to link Birkirkara, Mriehel and Balzan with Il-Hofor Road, a rural road leading to Zebbug and Qormi. These roundabout crossings will further improve the connections of the four-kilometre cycling and walking infrastructure developed through the Central Link Project in Ta’ Qali, Attard and Balzan.

Infrastructure Malta completed the Central Link Project in January 2022. This project cut travel times and drastically reduced congestion pollution in Attard, Balzan and Birkirkara by redesigning 11 junctions, removing four traffic lights systems and adding 14 kilometres of lanes along a 4.3-kilometre road corridor. These improvements are decreasing particulate matter pollution by up to 66% by 2030, even when considering future transport demand. Similarly, nitrogen dioxide emissions will go down by 41%. Particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide are the two main pollutants linked to road transport emissions, and a major cause of respiratory illnesses.

Central Link Project also added new infrastructure for bus passengers, pedestrians and cyclists, which were practically inexistent along this route.

Completing the Central Link Project

• 28 Jan, 2022 |

Infrastructure Malta completed Central Link Project, an arterial road upgrade in central Malta to halve travel times and reduce up to 66% of traffic pollution in Attard, Balzan, Mriehel and Birkirkara.

The agency opened this project’s new roads, footpaths, cycle lanes and other infrastructure during the last quarter of 2021. Workers completed landscaping, line markings, road signs and other finishes to these new connections this month. Infrastructure Malta is now conducting final testing and inspections to ensure that the new roads meet established quality standards.

Central Link Project is an EU-funded investment based on plans included in the 2006 Central Malta Local Plan, which had already indicated congestion along L-Imdina Road, In-Nutar Zarb Road and other nearby roads as a major problem for Attard and nearby localities. Infrastructure Malta optimised these 2006 plans to augment long-term efficiency and sustainability, to mitigate adverse impacts on adjacent lands and to add new infrastructure for bus passengers, pedestrians and cyclists, which were practically inexistent along this route.

A 2019 analysis by economist Gordon Cordina identified the Central Link Project as the most beneficial project out of seven principal road upgrades by Infrastructure Malta since its establishment in 2018. For every €1 million that Infrastructure Malta invested in this project, road users, residents and businesses in Malta are getting back up to €16 million in reduced travel times, lower accident risks, fuel savings and improved air quality.

Central Link Project cut travel times and drastically reduced congestion pollution in nearby residential areas by redesigning 11 junctions, removing four traffic lights systems and adding 14 kilometres of lanes along a 4.3-kilometre road corridor. These improvements are decreasing particulate matter pollution by up to 66% by 2030, even when considering future transport demand. Similarly, nitrogen dioxide emissions will go down by 41%. Particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide are the two main pollutants linked to road transport emissions, and a major cause of respiratory illnesses.

Studies conducted during the planning stage of this project showed that had no action been taken to upgrade these arterial roads, within a few years, travelling from Mriehel to Ta’ Qali would have taken commuters two hours fifteen minutes, advancing at 1.83 kilometres per hour in gridlock conditions. As a result, particulate matter pollution in nearby localities, including Attard and Balzan, would have increased by 278% by 2030.

The project’s bi-directional track for cyclists and pedestrians, the longest of its kind in Malta, extends over four kilometres between Ta’ Qali, Attard, Balzan and Mriehel. Infrastructure Malta also built ten kilometres of footpaths, 22 pedestrian crossings and 12 bus lay-bys, encouraging increased use of more sustainable modes of travel in these localities. 

Beneath the new roads, the agency laid 22 kilometres of underground networks, including sewers, water mains, electricity cables and Internet cable ducts. The project also included an 8.5-kilometre network of stormwater pipelines with 340 catchments to channel rainwater to nearby reservoirs, to the national flood relief tunnel network or to nearby valleys. The agency also added three underground reservoirs equipped with hydrodynamic separators to filter and harvest rainwater for the irrigation of the project’s new landscaped areas. Final works included the planting of 1,160 new indigenous trees and 13,774 shrubs and other plants.

Central Link Project is part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund of the European Union.

In the meantime, Infrastructure Malta is currently also implementing the Mriehel Underpass Project, a new roundabout underpass for safer connections between L-Imdina Road and the Mriehel Bypass, next to the Malta Financial Services Authority offices, at the edge of the Central Link Project route.

New artworks at the Marsa Hamrun Bypass outdoor art gallery

• 07 Jan, 2022 |

Il-Holma t’Alla (God’s dream), a series of photos by photography student Nathan Camilleri, is on display at the outdoor gallery of the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass, as part of an ongoing collaboration between the MCAST Institute for the Creative Arts and Infrastructure Malta.

Camilleri’s photographic series is inspired by Anton Buttigieg’s poem by the same name. A former President of Malta, Buttigieg (1912-1983) is also one of the most notable figures of Maltese 20th century literature. Il-Holma t’Alla invites the reader to appreciate and respect our planet as a divine work of art. Through his photos, Camilleri takes viewers on a sensory journey of the narrative of this poem. 

The young photographer explains that “this project brought together and documented the human element, nature and art in the same way that they are often intertwined in life. The photos expose our local environment as a tool to build a dialogue between literature, artistic interpretation, and the viewer. The congenital artistic creation reflects itself in our local landscape, which is an integral part of a collective effort to protect our earth, which is here represented by the image of a young girl.”

Infrastructure Malta and the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology’s (MCAST) Institute for the Creative Arts set up the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass outdoor gallery, the first of its kind in Malta, in December 2020. Set in a long lay-by along the vertical gardens of this road’s southbound carriageway, this outdoor gallery is giving the Institute’s students an alternative exhibition space that makes their artistic work easily accessible to thousands of road users who travel through this arterial south-central route every day.

Carmen Aquilina, Pierre Mifsud and Darren Tanti, the three lecturers who planned and directed the setting up of this art gallery, used this collaboration to study public and community art as a pedagogical tool, encouraging the public to learn to observe and appreciate artistic creations. The lecturers compiled a pedagogy tool kit to guide educators, educational administrators and other individuals engaged in similar public art projects. A copy of this tool kit can be obtained by contacting the Institute on 2398 7753.
 

Completing the Gheriexem Road Promenade

• 19 Nov, 2021 |

Infrastructure Malta completed the rebuilding of Gheriexem Road and the construction of its new promenade overlooking Gheriexem Valley, creating a safer pedestrian route between Mdina, Rabat and Mtarfa.

This €4 million project included the reconstruction of the road on stronger foundations to end years of subsidence damage, as well as a new promenade with safer footpaths and crossings in a road that previously had no infrastructure for pedestrians. The road now also includes additional parking spaces, an electric car charging station, Malta’s first solar footpaths, decorative lighting, benches, and a row of embedded planters with 40 new trees and other plants.

For decades, residents in this area have been calling on the authorities to stop the gradual sinking of Gheriexem Road, which was causing extensive damages to their residences, some of which were in danger of collapsing. As the road continued to deteriorate, Infrastructure Malta stepped in to start its reconstruction in July 2020. The architectural plans were prepared by the Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects’ Works and Infrastructure Department, in consultation with the environmental and archaeological authorities, to minimise adverse impacts on adjacent fields and to conserve the area’s rich archaeological potential.

Geotechnical investigations during the planning of this project confirmed that this road was built on layers of weak, fractured rock and clay. Its old retaining rubble wall was cracked and irregularly distorted, because it was being pushed outwards by the movement of the unstable infill materials beneath the road. As the underlying layers subsided, the road’s underground networks were damaged as well, causing water and sewage leaks that exacerbated the problem.

Infrastructure Malta built the new road and its promenade on 370 steel-reinforced concrete piles embedded three to five storeys into the ground. Two rows of piles are located beneath the road’s outer retaining structure, which also incorporates the promenade’s cantilevered footpath. The agency’s contractors cast the third row of piles along the other side of the road, where buildings were gradually sinking into the ground with the road’s subsidence.

Archaeologists approved by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage supervised all the project’s excavation works. Infrastructure Malta modified the road structure’s design to preserve several remains of potential archaeological importance uncovered during the works, keeping them accessible for future studies beneath the promenade.

Within the road’s new retaining structure, there’s a walk-through culvert for new high voltage electricity cables that will improve the area’s electricity services. Infrastructure Malta used 260 precast U-shaped elements to form this 600-metre underground tunnel. By making the cables more accessible, this tunnel will reduce the risk of having to dig up the new road for future repairs or upgrades. The project also included a new sewer, new stormwater catchments as well as potable water pipelines and cable ducts for improved internet and other telecommunication services in this area of Rabat.

This month Infrastructure Malta completed the finishes of the new promenade, including railings, hardstone paving, decorative kerbs, landscaping and irrigation systems, lighting, and other installations.

The new solar footpaths’ photovoltaic panels adopt an innovative solar pavements technology that is being introduced in several other countries. They are made of very thin (few millimetres) photovoltaic cells that are embedded in the footpath and covered with a layer of transparent heavy-duty resins and polymers that can withstand pedestrian, cycling and light vehicle traffic, whilst providing the same level of skid-resistance as any other concrete or paved surface.

These footpaths will generate over 4,600 kWh of electricity every year, saving 21 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and providing enough renewable energy to power 40% of Gheriexem Road’s lighting. They are the first step towards the development of more photovoltaic footpaths and cycle lanes in the future. Infrastructure Malta will monitor data from this project to determine the sustainability of investing in similar systems in other footpaths, cycle lanes and public open spaces.
 

New pedestrian routes in It-Tigrija Road

• 31 Aug, 2021 |

Infrastructure Malta is completing the first phase of the new footbridge at It-Tigrija Road, Marsa with new footpaths leading to this new connection and other nearby areas, and the elimination of a dangerous exit from an adjacent private road.

The new footpaths opening this week in this area will introduce a safer alternative to an existing pelican crossing across the southbound carriageway of It-Tigrija Road, along the main route between the Marsa Hamrun Bypass and Aldo Moro Road, the busiest road corridor in Malta. The agency is also blocking the irregular access of a nearby private lane onto the two-lane southbound carriageway of this road, to eliminate the accident black spot and major delays it is causing in this arterial road.

The It-Tigrija Road footbridge is creating a safer walking and cycling route between different residential areas of Marsa and the centre of Qormi (through Il-Gerrejja Alley). The first phase of the bridge, including its main crossing over It-Tigrija Road, is removing a critical safety risk along a very popular pedestrian route from the centre of Marsa (Il-Jum Street and Il-Marsa Street areas) towards several locations of Marsa and Qormi on the other side of It-Tigrija Road, including the Marsa Park and Ride bus terminus (L-Iljun Road, Qormi), the Marsa Sports Grounds and several other nearby industrial, retail and residential locations.

To reach these destinations, many pedestrians used to cross the five lanes of It-Tigrija Road and its slip roads, which did not have any form of safe crossing. Pedestrians needed to go over steel crash barriers and cross a high-speed section of the road, as vehicles went up the ramp from Dicembru Tlettax Road’s northbound carriageway to the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass.

Whilst the footbridge’s deck and staircases were opened to pedestrians earlier this summer, this week this phase of the project will be ready with the commissioning of the new elevators on either side of the structure and other related finishes. Infrastructure Malta is also completing the new footpaths leading to the bridge and to a residential and industrial area (Jean de la Cassiere Street) on the other side of this road. These footpaths will be signposted to guide pedestrians to their destination. They will also be separated from the road’s carriageways with steel fencing. Infrastructure Malta is also embellishing this area with several new trees and shrubs.

Studies carried out by Transport Malta and Infrastructure Malta in recent months confirmed that the irregular connection between It-Tigrija Road and an adjacent private road is causing serious collision risks as well as travel time delays and congestion pollution along this busy route. Footage captured as part of these studies shows heavy vehicles dangerously reversing onto oncoming traffic, to get in or out of this private lane serving a few warehouses, at times blocking the road even for emergency vehicles. Individuals could be observed irregularly stopping oncoming traffic to let these vehicles exit or enter the private road, putting themselves and other road users at risk. This connection will be blocked off in the coming days.

The second phase of the It-Tigrija footbridge project is in progress as well. It includes a second bridge deck to replace an existing zebra crossing at the one-lane off-slip connecting It-Tigrija Road’s southbound carriageway with Dicembru 13 Road, towards Valletta. This 23-metre structure will connect Il-Jum Street, Marsa with the deck of the footbridge already in place.

In 2020, Infrastructure Malta invested €5.9 million to build three new bridges for cyclists and pedestrians at Blata l-Bajda (San Gorg Preca Road), Luqa (L-Avjazzjoni Avenue) and Paola (Dom Mintoff Road). This year it opened another two footbridges and an underpass for pedestrians and cyclists as part of the Marsa Junction Project. The agency also opened a new subway beneath Tal-Barrani Road, between Santa Lucija and Tarxien. It is currently planning similar projects for safer connections for alternative modes of travel in other localities.    
 

Infrastructure Malta rebuilds Mdina Road in Qormi

• 28 Aug, 2021 |

Infrastructure Malta completed the €700,000 reconstruction of the southbound carriageway of L-Imdina Road in Qormi in one month, with most works carried out at night and during the Santa Marija summer shutdown week.

Stretching six kilometres from Saqqajja Hill, Ta’ Qali to the Ingiered area of Marsa, L-Imdina Road is one of the longest arterial roads in Malta. It connects Attard, Rabat and other central and northern localities of the Island with Zebbug, Qormi, Marsa and Luqa.

Infrastructure Malta rebuilt part of the southbound carriageway of this road in the centre of Qormi to improve its safety, cut travel times and decrease congestion pollution caused by this road’s bottleneck. This part of the carriageway was the only section of the six-kilometre route that narrowed to one lane, causing tailbacks and collision risks in this important thoroughfare. Through this project, the agency eliminated this bottleneck, widening the carriageway to two uninterrupted lanes.

Infrastructure Malta’s contractors carried out most works of this upgrade at night and during the week after Sunday, 15th August 2021, the Santa Marija national holiday, when many workplaces and businesses were closed for summer holidays. Works also included the rebuilding of the carriageway’s sewer manholes, many of which had caved in, repairs of some of its footpaths and boundary walls and the reorganisation of the area’s on-street parking spaces. The agency completed the project with the laying of 1,973 tonnes of asphalt and new line markings.

The reconstruction and widening of this part of L-Imdina Road will continue augmenting the safety, efficiency and sustainability of one of the principal routes of the Maltese road network. Infrastructure Malta has already invested in other upgrades of this road in recent years, including the rebuilding of four of its roundabouts in Zebbug and Qormi and the resurfacing of other sections of its dual carriageway.

Infrastructure Malta is currently also completing the final phases of the Central Link Project, to upgrade the arterial road corridor between Ta’ Qali, Attard, Balzan, Birkirkara and Mriehel, which runs parallel to L-Imdina Road in Zebbug and Qormi, with several links to it. This project will halve travel times in this area and drastically reduce congestion pollution in nearby residential areas by reconstructing 13 junctions, removing four traffic lights systems and adding over seven kilometres of new lanes along a 4.3-kilometre road corridor. This investment also introduces several facilities for alternative modes of travel, including Malta’s longest segregated path for pedestrians and cyclists.

90% of Central Link Project is ready

• 25 Aug, 2021 |

Infrastructure Malta is nearing the final stages of the Central Link Project, as 90% of its new roads, footpaths, cycle lanes and other infrastructure in Attard, Balzan and Birkirkara are now ready.

Central Link Project is a €55 million investment to reduce travel times, accident risks and congestion pollution along the principal arterial road corridor in central Malta, whilst creating safer spaces for alternative modes of travel in this part of Mriehel, Birkirkara, Balzan, Attard and Ta’ Qali.

Most of the seven kilometres of new lanes of this project will be ready for road users in the beginning of October, with asphalt laying works to complete these connections in progress in the coming weeks. Infrastructure Malta is finishing the surfaces of these new roads with polymer modified asphalt, a heavy-duty material it introduced in Malta in 2020 as a stronger, longer-lasting alternative that is more resistant to temperature variations.

The building of most of the project's bi-directional track for cyclists and pedestrians, the longest of its kind in Malta, will be ready in the coming weeks as well. It includes a 4.3-kilometre path separated from car lanes with trees, shrubs and other forms of lane segregation, providing a pleasant, safer alternative transport connection in this region.

Central Link Project also includes 10 kilometres of new or rebuilt footpaths and several new bus lay-bys. Beneath the new roads, Infrastructure Malta laid tens of kilometres of new underground networks, including sewers, water mains, electricity cables and Internet and other telecommunication ducts. The new roads also include a complex network of stormwater catchments and pipelines connected to reservoirs and the national flood relief tunnel network. 

The installation of irrigation systems and the planting of over 580 new trees in the 24,000 square metres of new landscaped areas of this project will also gather pace in September. Infrastructure Malta also built underground reservoirs equipped with hydrodynamic separators to filter and harvest rainwater for the irrigation of these new green areas.

Central Link Project is based on long-established plans included in the 2006 Central Malta Local Plan, which had already indicated congestion along L-Imdina Road, In-Nutar Zarb Road and other nearby roads as a major problem for Attard and nearby localities. Infrastructure Malta optimised these 2006 plans to augment long-term efficiency and sustainability, to mitigate adverse impacts on adjacent lands and to add safer infrastructure for bus passengers, pedestrians and cyclists, which were almost inexistent along this route. 

The National Transport Master Plan 2025 also highlights the importance of this investment, listing the L-Imdina Road and In-Nutar Zarb Road corridor as the 12th of 29 priority sections of the EU’s TEN-T network in Malta that need to be urgently upgraded for increased safety and efficiency. 

The project will halve travel times in this area and drastically reduce congestion pollution in nearby residential areas of Mriehel, Birkirkara, Balzan and Attard. In fact, the project is reducing particulate matter pollution by up to 66% by 2030, even when considering future transport demand. Similarly, nitrogen dioxide emissions will also decrease by 41%. Particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide are the two main pollutants linked to road transport emissions, and a major cause of respiratory illnesses.

Central Link Project is part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund of the European Union. 

In the meantime, Infrastructure Malta is currently also building a new roundabout underpass connecting L-Imdina Road and the Mriehel Bypass, next to the Malta Financial Services Authority offices, at the edge of the Central Link Project route. 

The two-lane 60-metre underpass will be located beneath the new roundabout that the same agency is building as part of the Central Link Project, to eliminate the traffic lights at this important junction between Balzan, Birkirkara and Mriehel. Through this new tunnel, the main eastbound traffic flows, from L-Imdina Road, Balzan towards the Mriehel Bypass (Royal Malta Artillery Avenue), will be grade-separated from the other flows converging at the new roundabout. By reducing its design speed and traffic volumes, the roundabout can now also incorporate safer pedestrian and cycling connections to Il-Hofor Road, a rural road leading to Zebbug and Qormi.