Infrastructure Malta is investing €2.2 million to rehabilitate the 120-year-old Ghajn Dwieli Tunnel, one of the main gateways of Cottonera’s walled cities of Cospicua, Senglea and Vittoriosa.
The agency is launching this project as it nears the completion of another €10 million upgrade of the four main road tunnels of the country’s arterial road network at Ta’ Giorni, Tal-Qroqq, Santa Venera and Kirkop.
Infrastructure Malta will restore the structure of the Ghajn Dwieli Tunnel, its portals and the large ventilation shaft half-way through it. Works include the cleaning of decades of soot from its surfaces and the pointing of limestone masonry linings with proprietary mortars that allow the stone to breathe, whilst limiting water ingress from the natural watercourses that seep through the mass of rock above it. The tunnel’s stormwater catchments and pipelines will be upgraded as well.
The rehabilitation works will continue with the installation of an adequate intelligent lighting system like the ones the agency is currently installing in the other four road tunnels. It will also introduce firefighting and emergency systems, such as fire hydrants, evacuation marker lights and emergency call stations. The tunnel will also have new traffic management surveillance cameras, new crash barriers and variable message signs.
The Ghajn Dwieli Tunnel extends 110 metres beneath St Paul’s Bastion. It includes two lanes, one in each direction, to connect Ghajn Dwieli Road, Paola with It-Tlett Ibliet (Three Cities) Road, Cospicua. The Royal Navy built the tunnel and its approach roads in 1900 when they were modifying the Cottonera Lines bastions to accommodate two new dry docks (Docks 4 and 5) for the naval shipyards nearby.
During World War II, Cospicua residents who continued living in the city despite the heavy bombing by enemy air raids used a rock-cut niche in this tunnel as a chapel. Infrastructure Malta will be cleaning this niche as part of the tunnel restoration works. For fire safety reasons, it will isolate the chapel from the tunnel with a new fire door.
The Planning Authority approved the restoration of this tunnel in 2020. Infrastructure Malta also consulted the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, to make sure that the tunnel’s historical features and the nearby bastion structures are properly conserved. Works are scheduled to start in the coming months and will be ready by end 2022. Most works will be carried out at night to reduce difficulties to road users.
Infrastructure Malta is excavating the new underpass of the Kirkop Tunnels and Airport Intersection Project (KTAIP), an €18 million investment for quicker and safer connections to Luqa, Gudja, Birzebbuga, Kirkop, Mqabba, Qrendi, Zurrieq, Safi and other nearby areas.
This project includes the redevelopment of the Gudja roundabout to introduce a new underpass to Birzebbuga, a flyover to the Kirkop Tunnels 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.
Infrastructure Malta started this project in January, as soon as it concluded the €20 million Santa Lucija Roundabout Underpass and the main works of the €70 million Marsa Junction Project, another two major infrastructural investments in southern Malta. During the last six months, workers started laying the foundations of the project’s new roads, using 420 tonnes of precast blocks and 560 tonnes of poured concrete. They also built 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.
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. Approximately 20% of these networks are ready.
In April, the agency also started excavating the project’s new 200-metre roundabout underpass and its two 120-metre approach ramps. 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. The project contractors have already excavated 30% of this underpass and its approach ramps.
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 a 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. Infrastructure Malta is fabricating the steel superstructure of this 400-metre flyover in a steel works factory in Spain.
Infrastructure Malta is planning the project works in collaboration with the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage, to ensure that they do not impact the Hal Resqun archaeological remains in the same area. This historical site will remain accessible to archaeologists as it was before the project commenced. Archaeologists approved by the Superintendence are monitoring all excavation works.
In the meantime, the agency is also preparing to start the Luqa Junction Project, a short distance away from the KTAIP site, along the same route. This project will transform Luqa’s principal roundabout into a multi-level junction with a flyover, an underpass, and other dedicated lanes at grade to open direct links between the three arterial roads merging at this crossroads. Together, these two projects will reduce travel times by up to 74% along this route.
The first lanes of the KTAIP and the Luqa Junction Project will be ready in the first quarter of 2022. All works will be ready by end 2022. The two projects may be co-financed through the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility.
Infrastructure Malta completed the boring of 370 piles down three to five storeys into the ground beneath Gheriexem Road, as it approaches the final phases of a €4 million project to consolidate this road and stop subsidence damage to its structure and nearby buildings.
Launched in August 2020, the Gheriexem Belvedere Project will also introduce a new promenade along the side of this road, with safer pedestrian connections between Mdina, Rabat and Mtarfa, benches overlooking the Gheriexem Valley, additional parking spaces, electric car charging points, a solar footpath and a row of new trees and shrubs.
For decades, residents in this area have been calling on the authorities to stop the gradual sinking of this road, which was causing extensive damages to their residences, some of which are in danger of collapsing.
After building a new retaining structure along the valley side of the road, this summer Infrastructure Malta started drilling the final row of 270 piles on the other side, which is lined with residences and other buildings. As the works got closer to the area most at risk, in June the agency asked families living nearby to relocate to alternative accommodation for a month, as an additional safety precaution. It provided these residents with the necessary support for this temporary relocation.
Whilst the project contractors are implementing these works with several technical safeguards specified by geologists and civil engineers, due to the unpredictable conditions of the weak clay layers beneath this final stretch of road, Infrastructure Malta took this additional temporary precaution for residents’ safety and peace of mind. The piling works are now ready, and these residents will be moving back to their homes this week.
The final works of this project, including new underground networks for the road’s residences, stormwater catchment systems and new asphalt surfaces, are now in progress. Infrastructure Malta is also finishing the new promenade with railings, hardstone paving, decorative kerbs around the new tree pits, benches, bicycle racks, lighting and other installations.
The new solar footpath’s photovoltaic panels will arrive in Malta in the coming weeks. This 40-square-metre renewable energy system will adopt an innovative solar pavements technology that is being introduced in several other countries. It will generate 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.
The architectural plans of this project 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 archaeology.
Geotechnical investigations during the planning of this project confirmed that this 800-metre 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 which exacerbated the problem. The critical state of this road was further confirmed in recent months, as several sections of the road and the old retaining wall collapsed before they could be reinforced with the new retaining structure now in place.
Infrastructure Malta is planning to complete this project during the last quarter of this year.
On Friday, the Planning Authority approved Luqa Junction Project, to replace this locality’s principal roundabout with a multi-level junction facilitating quicker and safer connections between Qormi, Santa Lucija, Marsa, Gudja, the Airport, the Kirkop Tunnels and Birzebbuga.
The existing roundabout is an important junction of the core TEN-T arterial road network, merging three major routes to and from several surrounding destinations. It is also one of the main access points to the centre of Luqa. This new project will introduce a flyover, an underpass and other dedicated lanes at grade to open up quicker and safer links between three arterial roads, including San Tumas Road towards Qormi, Il-Kunsill tal-Ewropa Road from Santa Lucija and Marsa, and L-Avjazzjoni Avenue, which leads to Gudja, Birzebbuga, the Kirkop Tunnels, the Airport and the Freeport.
The project will also see the transformation of the vast area currently occupied by the large roundabout into approximately 3,000 square metres of public recreational areas landscaped with footpaths, trees and monumental artworks, with easy pedestrian access from the centre of Luqa. Luqa Junction Project also incorporates a new segregated cycling and pedestrian path along part of Il-Kunsill tal-Ewropa Road, which will be adjoined to existing cycle lanes and footpaths in L-Avjazzjoni Avenue.
With almost 16,000 road users every hour during the morning and afternoon peaks, the Luqa roundabout is operating beyond its capacity, causing long queues with resulting delays. The existing junction design offers limited segregation between traffic flows from different directions and has become a major conflict point, causing delays and congestion emissions in Luqa and nearby locations.
Combined with the ongoing Kirkop Tunnels and Airport Intersection Project (KTAIP), including a similar upgrade of the Airport roundabout half a kilometre away, the Luqa Junction Project is expected to reduce travel times by up to 74% in all directions. These two projects are also effectively removing two accident black spots by ending roundabout conflicts and by introducing safer spaces for pedestrians and cyclists.
These two projects will also lead to significant air quality improvements in Luqa, Gudja and neighbouring areas. It is estimated that they will cut particulate matter emissions by up to 9.1 tonnes every year. Similarly, carbon dioxide emissions, a major contributor to the climate crisis, will go down by up to 33,000 tonnes annually.
The new flyover of the Luqa Junction Project will extend 220 metres to open an uninterrupted lane connecting the southbound carriageway of San Tumas Road with the southbound carriageway of L-Avjazzjoni Avenue, towards the Airport, Gudja, Birzebbuga and the Kirkop Tunnels. The cut-and-cover, single-lane tunnel will be 60 metres long and over 5.5 metres deep. It will link the westbound carriageway of Il-Kunsill tal-Ewropa Road with the northbound carriageway of San Tumas Road, so that road users travelling from Santa Lucija can continue towards Qormi without having to cross oncoming traffic on the way to the Airport and other destinations in the same direction.
At grade, new dedicated lanes will provide direct connections from the northbound carriageway of L-Avjazzjoni Avenue to San Tumas Road (towards Qormi) and Il-Kunsill tal-Ewropa Road (towards Marsa and Santa Lucija). The existing roundabout bypass lanes will be modified to become dedicated lanes serving the remaining directions.
Instead of the roundabout, Infrastructure Malta will develop a new recreational open space, with pathways and pedestrian crossings for easy access from the centre of Luqa and from the new and existing cycle lanes and footpaths of the three arterial roads around it. It will be embellished with new trees, shrubs and large-scale public artworks.
Most of the project will be built within the footprint of the existing roundabout and the roads leading to it. A strip of approximately 2,000 square metres of land along the westbound carriageway of Il-Kunsill tal-Ewropa Road will be required to develop the new segregated cycling and pedestrian track.
Infrastructure Malta is planning to start this project in the coming weeks, in conjunction with the ongoing Kirkop Tunnels and Airport Intersection Project.
The Luqa Junction Project and the KTAIP may be co-financed through the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility.
Infrastructure Malta is launching the construction of a new roundabout underpass connecting L-Imdina Road and the Mriehel Bypass, next to the Malta Financial Services Authority offices.
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.
As part of the Central Link Project, Infrastructure Malta has already built two new roundabout bypass lanes to create an uninterrupted route in the opposite direction, westbound from the Bypass towards Balzan and Attard. By eliminating the principal eastbound and westbound flows from the roundabout, this junction is now becoming safer for road users travelling to other nearby destinations, including Mriehel, Birkirkara and Zebbug (from Attard, Balzan and Lija). 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.
A few metres away, the Central Link Project is developing a 4.3-kilometre cycling and walking track linking Mriehel, Birkirkara, Balzan, Attard and Ta’ Qali. Through the improved roundabout crossings made possible by the new underpass, pedestrians and cyclists will now have another safe route from this area to Zebbug and Qormi.
The Planning Authority Board unanimously approved the construction of the new underpass this week, following consultations with all stakeholders concerned.
In the meantime, Infrastructure Malta is also continuing the Central Link Project, which will be ready by the end of this year. 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.
The project will reconstruct 13 junctions, remove four traffic lights systems and add over seven kilometres of new lanes to halve travel times in this area and reduce congestion pollution in nearby neighbourhoods by up to 66%. Besides the new cycling and walking track, this investment is also introducing other facilities for alternative modes of travel, such as 10 kilometres of safe pedestrian footpaths, segregated crossings and bus lay-bys. Infrastructure Malta is also developing over 24,000 square metres of new landscaped areas along the project route.
Infrastructure Malta completed the first phase of this project, including a two-lane westbound carriageway bypassing three traffic light junctions to create a quicker and safer route from Mriehel to the Wied Incita area of Attard, last September. Its contractors are now working on the reconstruction of several other arterial roads in the same area, including L-Imdina Road, between Ta’ Qali, Attard and Balzan, Iz-Zaghfran Road, In-Nutar Zarb Road and Valletta Road. This week, workers also finished the rebuilding of other adjacent residential roads, including Oliver Agius Street, Hannibal Street, Ferdinandu Inglott Street and part of Haz-Zebbug Road.
Infrastructure Malta is launching a major safety upgrade of L-Imgarr Road, the main link between Mosta and Mgarr and one of the principal routes to north Malta.
This three-kilometre road (also known as Sir Temi Zammit Road) is currently composed of a two-lane single carriageway and a wide, brick-paved footpath for pedestrians and cyclists on one side. With no form of protection against cross-median collisions and with little measures to curb speeding, this road has become a critical accident black spot. Unfortunately, the road has seen several fatal accidents recent years. Meanwhile, the wide footpath is not considered to be an adequate path for cyclists and pedestrians since it is constantly interrupted with depressions for access to adjacent properties.
Following appeals from road users, paramedics and the Mgarr Local Council, Infrastructure Malta is launching a major safety upgrade of this road, similar to the recent upgrade of Burmarrad Road, between Mosta and Burmarrad. The agency intends to transform the road into a dual carriageway route, with one lane in each direction separated by crash barriers or bollards. The agency will also introduce other safety measures, including pedestrian crossings and high friction anti-skid surface treatments.
This upgrade will reduce the risks of cross-median collisions, whilst discouraging speeding. The two carriageways will still be wide enough to allow emergency vehicles to overtake stationary vehicles in case of need.
The L-Imgarr Road safety upgrade will also incorporate the rebuilding of a safe footpath on one side, new pedestrian crossings and two uninterrupted cycle lanes, one in each direction. Following discussions with the administration of two nearby schools, Infrastructure Malta is also building a new roundabout at the T-junction with the road to L-Imselliet, facilitating safer access to these educational institutions.
During the planning stage of this project, Infrastructure Malta consulted the Mgarr Local Council and the Mosta Local Council. The two councils are supporting the planned measures to reduce the serious consequences of accidents in this road.
Safer crash barriers
Infrastructure Malta will be separating the two carriageways with concrete crash barriers that are specifically designed to prevent rollover and break through accidents, reducing the risks of serious injuries. This type of CE-certified vehicle restraint system was used in Malta for the first time in Infrastructure Malta projects completed in 2019. They have since helped to reduce the consequences of collisions along roads such as Tal-Balal Road and Regional Road, as happened in other countries in recent decades.
This kind of vehicle restraint system, which is widely used in many European motorways, including the UK’s M1 and M6, is crash-tested and certified to safely contain the impact of a 13-tonne bus travelling at speeds of up to 70 km/h. A video of some of these tests can be viewed here.
The six-metre, 3.4 tonne barriers are cast under licence from the internationally-acclaimed safety barriers company Deltabloc International GmbH. Vehicle restraint system auditors from the international certification body TÜV inspected the local manufacturing process and the units produced, before confirming its CE-certification in line with the European vehicle restraint system safety standard EN1317.
The precast concrete crash barriers have a special anti-flip profile that redirects vehicles back onto the carriageway, to drastically reduce the risk of roll-over upon impact. They also have a high containment level with low deflection (side movement) to prevent cross-median accidents. Notwithstanding their rigidity, the barriers help contain drivers’ and passengers’ head acceleration on impact to a safe level, reducing potential severe neck injuries.
Since they have no sharp edges, these concrete barriers are also safer for motorcyclists. Studies have shown that this type of vehicle restraint system reduces the likelihood of severe injuries to helmeted riders involved in motorcycle-barrier collisions.
Infrastructure Malta installed a new public artwork to embellish the roundabout of the Santa Lucija Underpass Project, completed earlier this year between Santa Lucija, Tarxien and Paola.
N(h)ar is a four-metre high steel artwork created by I+A, a collective of architects, artists and technologists based in Malta. It is one of sixteen artworks shortlisted for the landscaped areas of Infrastructure Malta’s road projects, following an international competition held in collaboration with Spazju Kreattiv in 2020.
The artwork’s name combines two homophonous Maltese words - “Nar” meaning fire and “Nhar” meaning day. Ancient civilisations saw fire as a gift from the gods and some attributed it to the sun god, believing the sun to be a ball of endless fire. This symbolism associated with fire and daytime persists today, with fire and day as a metaphor of progress, hope, and with darkness as a symbol of uncertainty.
The artwork includes 120 steel pillars, emerging from the ground and rising to different heights, as if they are fragments of a liquid fire. At night, the pillars light up like rays of hope.
Infrastructure Malta commissioned the production of this artwork towards the end of 2020. I+A coordinated a team of metal workers to fabricate, galvanise and spray the artwork’s steel components in two workshops in Xghajra and Kordin.
In the meantime, Infrastructure Malta cast the concrete base of this artwork, at the roundabout above the new underpass connecting Tal-Barrani Road with Santa Lucija Avenue and completed the embellishment of this area with several new trees and shrubs. N(h)ar started taking shape in April, when the artists assembled the first set of pillars. The agency completed the electrical works to illuminate the artwork this week.
N(h)ar is the fifth public artwork commissioned for the embellishment of Infrastructure Malta’s road projects. The four winning entries of last year’s public art competition in collaboration with Spazju Kreattiv are being installed in the landscaped areas of the Marsa Junction Project. Two of these artworks, Tipping Point, by the Cypriot metal artists Alex Welch and Sema, another submission by I+A, are already in place, whilst Ascension, by Mizzi Studios, and Tisliba, by Gozitan ceramicist Paul Haber, will be installed in the coming weeks.
Infrastructure Malta completed the Marsa Junction Project, a €70 million investment to cut 79% of travel time and up to 70% of air pollution in the country’s busiest intersection, along the principal route to southern Malta.
Dr Robert Abela, Prime Minister of Malta, Dr Ian Borg, Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects, Dr Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, Parliamentary Secretary for EU Funds and Ing. Fredrick Azzopardi, Infrastructure Malta’s Chief Executive Officer, inaugurated this investment on Thursday, 15th April 2021.
The EU-funded project, which was launched in 2018, is the greatest infrastructural investment ever made in the Maltese road network. It included the construction of a new multi-level intersection with seven flyover structures, 12 kilometres of new lanes, 3.5 kilometres of footpaths and cycle lanes, two footbridges, bus lanes, a 380-space car park, 15 kilometres of underground networks and extensive landscaped areas with thousands of new trees.
The project regenerated a 97,000 square-metre public space between Marsa and Paola, introducing better quality, safer infrastructure for all road users and for nearby residents and workers. Until a few years ago, most of this area was abandoned, with old industrial buildings, other derelict structures, unsafe footpaths and crossings, and unused parking areas.
The project’s new roads and flyovers form uninterrupted, dedicated lanes to all routes merging at this junction, including major arterial roads such as Aldo Moro Road, Santa Lucija Avenue, Sir Paul Boffa Avenue and Giuseppe Garibaldi Road. The new grade-separated intersection eliminated the outdated traffic lights system developed in the late 1990s next to the Addolorata Cemetery, which had long exceeded its capacity, causing major tailbacks and high concentrations of air and noise pollution.
The elimination of traffic light waiting times for over 100,000 road users travelling through this junction every day is resulting in significant air quality improvements in Paola and Marsa. The Marsa Junction Project is decreasing up to 70% of particulate matter emissions and 52% of nitrogen oxide emissions, two major causes of respiratory diseases and other health problems. This investment is also halving carbon dioxide emissions, the principal contributor to the climate emergency.
A 2019 analysis by economist Gordon Cordina showed that for every €1 million invested in the Marsa Junction Project, Malta will get a return of €4.2 million in benefits, such as reduced travel times, lower fuel consumption, reduced accidents and related medical costs, increased labour force productivity and major air quality improvements.
The project’s new footpaths, footbridges and cycle lanes form part of a wider network of footpaths, cycle lanes, subways and bridges that Infrastructure Malta developed in this region to facilitate safer connections for pedestrians, bus passengers and cyclists between Tarxien, Paola, Santa Lucija, Marsa, Luqa, Gudja, Qormi and other nearby areas. They include other new infrastructure completed during the last two years, such as the new cycling and walking track along Hal Luqa Road and Santa Lucija Avenue and the subway beneath Tal-Barrani Road, connecting Santa Lucija and Tarxien.
The seven flyover structures include the highest (4.5 storeys), the widest (four lanes) and the longest (227 metres) flyovers ever built in Malta. They are supported on deep foundations comprising 460 concrete piles drilled several storeys deep into the ground. Contractors built 42 concrete pillars and laid 350 steel and prestressed concrete beams to form the seven superstructures. Infrastructure Malta completed the project’s new roads with the laying of 24,000 tonnes of asphalt and the installation of six kilometres of crash barriers, 250 road lights, security cameras, directional sign gantries and other road safety systems.
Beneath the new roads, the agency laid 15 kilometres of underground networks, including water mains, sewers, walk-through culverts for electricity cables, Internet and other telecommunication cable ducts and stormwater pipelines.
In the project’s new landscaped areas, Infrastructure Malta’s contractors are planting 7,770 trees and 10,495 shrubs and hedges. Four monumental artworks created by local and international artists are also being incorporated in these green areas, along the project’s new footpaths and cycle lanes.
The Marsa Junction Project is co-financed through the European Union’s Cohesion Fund and the Connecting Europe Facility.
IN FIGURES:
• €70 million EU-funded investment • 12 kilometres new lanes • 79% less travel time • 7 flyovers • 52% less nitrogen oxides • 70% less particulate matter • 50% less carbon dioxide • 227 metres – Malta’s longest flyover • 4.5 storeys – Malta’s highest flyover • 460 underground piles • 42 pillars • 350 beams • 24,000 tonnes asphalt • 2 footbridges • 1 subway • 3.5 kilometres footpaths & cycle lanes • 7,770 trees • 10,495 shrubs • 1.5 million litres rainwater in 4 new reservoirs • 15 kilometres underground networks • 380-space park and ride area • 250 road lights • 1.6 kilometres architectural lighting • 6.1 kilometres crash barriers
Infrastructure Malta is nearing the final stages of a major upgrade of Ghajn Qajjet Road, between Gheriexem Road in Rabat and the Mtarfa Bypass, to facilitate safer vehicular and pedestrian connections between these two localities.
The project was launched earlier this year to consolidate the benefits of the ongoing Gheriexem Belvedere Project, which includes the reconstruction of Gheriexem Road on stronger foundations to end years of subsidence damage and to introduce a new belvedere with safer footpaths overlooking Gheriexem Valley.
Ghajn Qajjet Road is a 300-metre arterial road connecting several other roads, including Il-Haddiem Avenue and Tat-Tabija Road (lower end of Gheriexem Road) in Rabat, Ghajn Kajjet Road, a countryside road leading to Bahrija and other rural suburbs of Rabat, Il-Maltin Internati u Eżiljati Road, known as the Mtarfa Bypass, and Ta’ Slampa Street and L-Imtarfa Street in Mtarfa, at one of the main access points to this locality. With its numerous connections and crossroads, the road is a very important link between the two localities. Most of this road did not have footpaths, even if many Rabat residents use this route to reach the long footpath along the Mtarfa Bypass for wellbeing and fitness walks. Its junctions also needed to be improved to reduce collision risks.
Infrastructure Malta redesigned this road to include a new 200-metre footpath and to create safer traffic islands at its T-junctions, particularly those leading to the centre of Mtarfa. The new footpath will be linked to the paved pathways of the Gheriexem Belvedere and to the existing footpath along the Mtarfa Bypass, to create a 2.3-kilometre pedestrian route from the Roman Domus area of Rabat to the eastern end of the Mtarfa Bypass.
In the meantime, through this upgrade, Infrastructure Malta is also alleviating the long-standing flooding difficulties of this area, with the laying of a half-kilometre stretch of new pipeline, one-metre wide, instead of the pre-existing narrow culvert. Workers are also improving the stormwater catchments along this road, to increase their efficiency. This reinforcement will complement the new stormwater system forming part of the Gheriexem Belvedere Project, to channel rainwater from several Rabat and Mtarfa streets to nearby natural valleys and watercourses.
Infrastructure Malta is currently also rebuilding Il-Kavallier Vincenzo Bonello Street, another major road leading to Mtarfa. In this half-kilometre road up the hill to Mtarfa, the agency’s contractors are embedding over 60 concrete piles and other retaining structures to stabilise its foundations and stop its gradual subsidence, before rebuilding its carriageway with new asphalt.
Infrastructure Malta is planting 18,265 trees and shrubs in the new green areas around the seven flyovers of the Marsa Junction Project.
The agency opened the new roads and flyovers forming this new multi-level intersection last December. Since then, its contractors turned their attention to the project’s final works, including lighting, landscaping and irrigation systems, lift installations in the new pedestrian bridges, bus shelters and other finishes.
The Marsa Junction Project is upgrading the busiest junction of the Maltese road network, regenerating a 97,000 square-metre public space between Marsa and Paola with better quality, safer infrastructure for all road users and for nearby residents and workers. Until 2018, when the project commenced, most of this area was abandoned, with old industrial buildings, other derelict structures, unsafe footpaths and crossings, and unused parking areas.
By redesigning this area’s road network, by drastically reducing congestion pollution, by introducing vast areas of landscaping and by facilitating safer pedestrian, public transport and cycling connections, this project is leading to a considerable enhancement in quality of life in this region.
The ongoing landscaping works are forming 15,000 square metres of new green areas between the Is-Salib tal-Marsa area and the Addolorata Cemetery. Contractors are planting 7,770 trees, including Aleppo pines, holm oaks, lentisks, cypresses, olive trees, judas trees and carob trees. Around them, they are also adding 10,495 shrubs and hedges, such as rosemary, oleander and olive-leaved germander.
Infrastructure Malta installed circa two kilometres of underground irrigation pipes to water these trees and shrubs. Many of the green areas will be watered using rainwater harvested in three new large underground reservoirs, with a total capacity exceeding 1.5 million litres.
Infrastructure Malta is also embellishing these public areas with four monumental artworks produced by local and international artists after participating in a public competition last year. Two of these artworks, “Tipping Point” by Alex Welch, and “Sema” by I+A Studio, are already in place, whilst the other two, “Ascension” by Mizzi Studios, and “Tisliba” by Paul Haber will be installed in coming weeks.
The project’s 3.5 kilometres of new footpaths and cycle lanes, as well as the new pedestrian bridges, bus lanes, bus lay-bys and park and ride areas are in their final stages. The new walking and cycling track connecting Paola, Tarxien and Santa Lucija with the Marsa Sports Grounds area of Marsa is almost ready. Workers are installing lamp posts and other light fixtures, as well as security cameras, to ensure the safety of these paths even at night.
The two footbridges of this project are nearing completion as well. Contractors are currently installing the lifts that will take pedestrians and cyclists to the decks of the two tied-arch bridges. They’re also completing the structures with safety railings, lighting, security cameras and other equipment to ensure increased safety, security and accessibility.
The longest of the two footbridges spans 59 metres over the southern end of Aldo Moro Road, creating a quicker and safer connection for pedestrians, bus passengers and cyclists travelling between the Addolorata Cemetery, the Marsa Industrial Estate and the Marsa Sports Grounds areas on one side of the road and the Albert Town and Is-Salib tal-Marsa areas on the other. It will also link the project’s new park and ride areas with nearby bus stops, along the main public transport route to many localities in southern Malta. The second, 32-metre bridge rises over Sir Paul Boffa Avenue, to provide another safe pedestrian route between the L-Ibjar Street area of Paola and the Prince Albert Street area of Marsa.
Final works in the new 380-space park and ride areas, next to the project’s new bus lay-bys, are in progress as well.
All of these new facilities form part of a wider network of footpaths, cycle lanes, subways and bridges that Infrastructure Malta is developing in this region to facilitate safer connections for pedestrians, bus passengers and cyclists between Tarxien, Paola, Santa Lucija, Marsa, Luqa, Gudja, Qormi and other nearby areas. They include other new infrastructure completed during the last two years, such as the new cycling and walking track along Hal Luqa Road and Santa Lucija Avenue and the recently-opened subway beneath Tal-Barrani Road, connecting Santa Lucija and Tarxien.
The €70 million Marsa Junction Project is co-financed through the European Union’s Cohesion Fund and the Connecting Europe Facility. It includes a new multi-level intersection to replace the old Addolorata traffic lights system with 12 kilometres of uninterrupted lanes, grade-separated at three levels, creating direct, safer connections for different modes of travel between the arterial roads merging at this network node. The project is ending traffic lights waiting times along this principal route to southern Malta, whilst significantly reducing congestion emissions in Marsa and other nearby localities.
