Completing the Santa Lucija Underpass Project

• 23 Jan, 2021 |

Infrastructure Malta completed the Santa Lucija Roundabout Underpass Project, another €20 million investment to improve the safety, efficiency and sustainability of the principal route to southern Malta.

The project’s new four-lane underpass connecting Tal-Barrani Road with Santa Lucija Avenue (Addolorata Hill) is cutting over 30% of journey times, whilst reducing traffic noise and air pollution caused by the previous congested roundabout junction, which converged several busy routes, including three arterial roads and another three roads leading to Santa Lucija, Paola and Tarxien. The new grade-separated junction is shifting most of this crossroads’ vehicle flows to the new tunnels, making the new roundabout above them a safer and quicker connection for road users travelling between the three surrounding localities using different modes of travel.

The Santa Lucija Roundabout Underpass Project also included the reconstruction of a nearby jogging track as well as new pedestrian crossings between Paola and Santa Lucija, safer bus lay-bys and a new shared pedestrian and cycling path connecting Santa Lucija to Marsa. Infrastructure Malta also rebuilt the old Tal-Barrani Road pedestrian subway in a safer design, with ramps for cyclists, pathways that are accessible to all and surveillance cameras for increased security to pedestrians and cyclists travelling between Santa Lucija, Paola and Tarxien.

Works on site started in summer 2019, as the project contractors excavated over 80,000 tonnes of rock to form the two cut-and-cover tunnels of the new 90-metre underpass. The underpass is connected to Tal-Barrani Road and Santa Lucija Avenue with two 130-metre approach ramps. Another four new ramps connect these two roads with the new roundabout above the tunnels.
 
As part of this project, workers also built a 1.1 km underground walk-through culvert, extending from Tal-Barrani Road, along Santa Lucija Avenue, to reach another similar underground tunnel network beneath the new flyovers of the Marsa Junction Project. In these tunnels, the project contractors laid new cables to reinforce the country’s principal 132kV high voltage electricity network.

Infrastructure Malta also replaced a major underground potable water distribution pipeline in the same area. Additionally, it installed several kilometres of underground cable ducts for Internet, traffic management ICT systems and other telecommunication networks. The project also included new reservoirs and 2.7 kilometres of stormwater pipes to store rainwater for the area’s new landscaped areas.

The new shared pedestrian and cycling path along Santa Lucija Avenue forms part of a longer safe cycle network connecting Luqa, Santa Lucija, Tarxien, Paola, Marsa and Qormi. The first stretch of this bi-directional path was developed as part of the reconstruction of Hal Luqa Road, next to Santa Lucija’s Garden of Serenity, in 2019. Through the Santa Lucija Roundabout Underpass Project, Infrastructure Malta has now extended it down the northbound carriageway of Santa Lucija Avenue, until it reaches Marsa, where other segregated cycling tracks and a cycling and pedestrian underpass are nearing completion as part of the Marsa Junction Project. Through the new Tal-Barrani Subway, this cycling and walking route is now also connected to Tarxien. 

The Santa Lucija Roundabout Underpass Project forms part of a long-term investment along the main south-central route of Malta, extending from Pembroke and St Julian’s to Birzebbuga. It includes other arterial road upgrades, such as the 2018 reconstruction of Dicembru 13 Road and the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass, the 2019 rebuilding of part of Regional Road, the Msida Valley Bridge and Hal Luqa Road, the rebuilding of Hal Qormi Road and San Tumas Road in 2020, as well as the Marsa Junction Project. Infrastructure Malta will continue to improve this arterial route with other upgrades, such as the Kirkop Tunnels and Airport Intersection Project (KTAIP) in Gudja, which started this week, and the upcoming Luqa Junction Project and the Msida Creek Project.

The Santa Lucija Roundabout Underpass Project is part-financed by the European Union’s Cohesion Fund. 

Infrastructure Malta launches Kirkop Tunnels and Airport Intersection

• 21 Jan, 2021 |

Infrastructure Malta is launching the first works of the Kirkop Tunnels and Airport Intersection Project (#KTAIP), an €18 million investment to upgrade the Gudja roundabout with a new underpass to Birzebbuga and a flyover to the Kirkop tunnels.  

The KTAIP includes the redevelopment of this critical junction of the Maltese road network to reduce travel times and accident risks to commuters travelling through the Kirkop Tunnels, to and from Kirkop, Mqabba, Qrendi, Zurrieq and Safi, whilst introducing 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 several sectors of the Maltese economy.

Infrastructure Malta started works on this project this week, as it nears the completion of another two major infrastructural upgrades in southern Malta, including the €20 million Santa Lucija Roundabout Underpass and the €70 million Marsa Junction Project. The KTAIP works started with excavations along the sides of the existing roundabout bypass lanes and will extend to other areas in the coming weeks. To facilitate quicker diversions during this two-year project, and to ensure uninterrupted access to all roads merging at this junction, the agency is forming a temporary roundabout at the beginning of Hal Far Road and is working with the Malta International Airport management to open a temporary entrance to the Airport’s parking areas. 

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. 

This project will transform the roundabout into a grade-separated intersection with direct connections to and from the different routes converging at this junction. At the lower level, two new tunnels beneath the roundabout will create a direct link between the southbound and northbound carriageways of L-Avjazzjoni Avenue and Hal Far Road. These tunnels 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 will rebuild the existing roundabout in an improved design to facilitate access to and from Gudja, Ghaxaq and the Airport. The existing bypass lane for northbound travel from the Kirkop Tunnels to L-Avjazzjoni Avenue will also be rebuilt to continue cutting journey times along this route as well. 

The third level of the intersection will incorporate 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.

By channelling three of the routes currently connected through the roundabout to the underpass and overpass lanes, Infrastructure Malta is reducing roundabout conflicts and the resulting collision risks and waiting times for thousands of road users who use this junction every day.  

Through the KTAIP, Infrastructure Malta will also introduce safer facilities for alternative modes of travel. In fact, the new intersection design includes new footpaths and improved public transport amenities. It also comprises new cycle lanes and safe cycle routes that will complement the cycle lanes and the cycling and pedestrian bridge at L-Avjazzjoni Avenue and the segregated cycling and walking track at San Tumas Road and Hal Qormi Road, which Infrastructure Malta developed during the last three years. The roundabout’s new design will include safer pedestrian and cycling crossings as well. 

Infrastructure Malta drafted the plans and method statements of this project in collaboration with the Superintendence for Cultural Heritage, to ensure that the road construction and tunnel excavation works do not impact the Hal Resqun archaeological remains in the existing roundabout. These catacombs are located off the site of the new underpass and will remain accessible to archaeologists as they are today. 

This investment may be co-financed by the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility and part-financed by the Cohesion Fund.
 

Gheriexem Belvedere starts taking shape

• 12 Jan, 2021 |

The cantilevered walkway of the new Gheriexem Belvedere, in Rabat, will start taking shape this month, as Infrastructure Malta nears the halfway mark of this €4 million project to rebuild Gheriexem Road and stop decades of subsidence damage to its structure and nearby buildings.

The Gheriexem Belvedere Project includes the reconstruction of the scenic Gheriexem Road on stronger foundations, in an improved alignment incorporating a new belvedere with safer footpaths, benches overlooking the Gheriexem Valley and landscaped areas with many new trees.

This week, Infrastructure Malta is entering a new phase of this project, as workers start putting together the rebar and formwork to cast in-situ the slab of the cantilevered belvedere’s deck. 

In the meantime, to consolidate the benefits of this project and to alleviate long-standing flooding difficulties in this area, Infrastructure Malta is now also reinforcing part of the underground stormwater catchment system between Il-Haddiem Avenue, Tat-Tabija Road, Gheriexem Road and Ghajn Qajjet Road (Mtarfa Bypass). Through this separate upgrade, the agency is laying a half-kilometre stretch of new pipeline, one-metre wide, instead of an older narrower culvert. It is also improving the efficiency of some of the existing catchments. This reinforcement will complement the new stormwater system forming part of the Gheriexem Belvedere Project, to channel rainwater from several streets to nearby natural valleys and watercourses.       

During the last few months, the project contractors completed most of the new foundation structure of this 800-metre road, except in three small sections where Infrastructure Malta introduced minor changes after buried remains of potential historical significance were uncovered during archaeological excavations forming part of the same project. The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage and Infrastructure Malta modified the foundation structure’s plans to keep these remains visible and accessible for future studies.

To build the new footings of the road and its new belvedere, Infrastructure Malta inserted over 100 steel-reinforced concrete piles 15 metres (5 storeys) deep into the ground. Each pile ranges between 0.7 and one metre wide. The project contractors bridged the piles with a long concrete capping beam. On top of this platform, workers placed some 6,000 large limestone blocks and poured tonnes of concrete to form a seven-metre thick retaining wall abutting the weak rubble wall built on clay which supported the existing road until it started to gradually give way in recent years.  

Within the new retaining structure, the agency also formed a walk-through culvert for new high voltage electricity cables that will improve the area’s electricity grid. It used 260 precast U-shaped elements to form this 600-metre tunnel. These electricity cable walk-through culverts will reduce the risk of having to dig up the new road for future repairs or upgrades. The project also includes a new sewer, new stormwater catchments as well as potable water pipelines and ducts for improved internet and other telecommunication networks in this area of Rabat.

The Gheriexem Belvedere Project was launched in July 2020 with extensive archaeological excavations in the strip of land along the road’s existing retaining wall, where the new belvedere is now under construction. Before starting these works, the project contractors also cleaned the site from decades of illegally dumped waste.

The plans of this project were prepared by the Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects’ Works and Infrastructure Department. It designed the structure of the new foundations and the belvedere in consultation with environmental and archaeological authorities to minimise adverse impacts on adjacent fields. 

For many years, residents in this area have been calling on the authorities to stop the gradual sinking of this road along the side of Gheriexem Valley, which is causing extensive damages to their residences, some of which are in danger of collapsing. Geotechnical investigations on site confirmed that this 800-metre road was built on layers of weak, fractured rock and clay. Its old retaining wall is cracked and irregularly distorted, showing that it is being pushed outwards by the movement of the unstable infill materials beneath the road. 

Infrastructure Malta is working to complete this project as soon as possible, to ensure the safety of road users and the area’s residents. 

Planning a safety upgrade for Mriehel Bypass

• 19 Dec, 2020 |

Infrastructure Malta refers to a press conference by a local NGO and some Mriehel landowners on Saturday 19th December 2020.

The planned safety upgrade, which is still in initial design stages, involves the construction of a flyover at the junction between the Mriehel Bypass (Royal Malta Artillery Avenue) and In-Negozju Street, an accident black spot that has been calling for improvement for many years. This upgrade will not widen the Bypass, which will remain with two lanes in each direction, as it is now. However, additional land along the sides of this road is required for the flyover that will eliminate the existing accident black spot, where vehicles are currently forced to make a sharp turn against oncoming traffic to reach Mriehel through In-Negozju Street. This T-junction has been the site of several fatal collisions since the Bypass was built in the 1990s. Additional land is also required for a new cycle lane and footpath along the same Bypass, which does not currently have any facilities for alternative modes of travel.  

This safety upgrade is specified in the National Transport Master Plan Malta 2025, which ranks it as the eighth most important arterial road upgrade required to ensure the safety and efficiency of the TEN-T (Trans-European Transport Network - Core and Comprehensive) in Malta, as required by Regulation (EU) 1315/2013. This road’s junction safety is also highlighted as a principal point of concern in the 2006 Central Malta Local Plan. The Plan identifies safety upgrades to the Mriehel Bypass as one of the area’s policy priorities: “MEPA will support and encourage the ADT and other bodies to undertake works and measures to control parking, remove safety hazards and regulate movements along the Mriehel By-pass.”        

The agency clarifies that this junction safety upgrade in the Mriehel Bypass is still in its initial planning stages and that there was no attempt to implement it by stealth, as alleged during Saturday’s press conference. In fact, the tenants who addressed the press conference found out about this proposed upgrade after they were contacted by Infrastructure Malta to launch initial stakeholder consultations required to finalise the project designs with the least possible adverse impacts in the area. The landowners who addressed the press conference were invited to two meetings with Infrastructure Malta as part of this planning process and they were given a copy of the preliminary plans. Once the project plans are discussed with all stakeholders, including the applicable environmental and planning authorities, the final plans that will be put forward for the Planning Authority’s decision will also be made available to the public for consultation as per applicable procedure for all new developments.

More details about this project will b announced with the project plans are finalised. 

Foundation structures of Gheriexem Belvedere almost ready

• 20 Nov, 2020 |

Infrastructure Malta is completing the complex foundation structures that will support the reconstruction of Rabat’s scenic Gheriexem Road with a new belvedere, whilst stopping decades of subsidence damage to its structure and to nearby buildings.

The Gheriexem Belvedere Project is a €4 million infrastructural investment to rebuild this road on stronger foundations, in an improved alignment incorporating a new belvedere with safer footpaths, benches overlooking the Gheriexem Valley and landscaped areas with many new trees.

The new road’s substructure is based on two rows of steel-reinforced concrete piles inserted 15 metres (5 storeys) deep into the ground. Over 100 piles, ranging between 0.7 and one metre wide, will support the new road foundations and the belvedere. Most of these piles are ready and the remaining ones will be drilled and cast within the next few weeks. 

The project contractors bridged the piles that are already in place with a long concrete capping beam. On top of this platform, workers are now using more than 6,000 large limestone blocks and tonnes of concrete to build a seven-metre thick retaining wall abutting the weak rubble wall built on clay which supported the existing road until it started to gradually give way in recent years.  

Within the new retaining structure, Infrastructure Malta is also forming a walk-through culvert for new high voltage electricity cables that will improve the area’s electricity grid. It is using 260 precast U-shaped elements to form this 600-metre tunnel. These electricity cable walk-through culverts will reduce the need to dig up the new road for future repairs or upgrades. The project also includes a new sewer, new stormwater catchments as well as potable water pipelines and ducts for improved internet and other telecommunication networks.   

The Gheriexem Belvedere Project was launched four months ago with extensive archaeological excavations in the strip of land along the road’s existing retaining wall, where the new road’s substructure is now nearing completion. In some areas, buried remains of potential archaeological significance were uncovered during these excavations. The Superintendence of Cultural Heritage and Infrastructure Malta modified parts of the project plans to keep these newly-discovered remains visible and accessible for future studies. The project contractors also cleaned the site from decades of illegally dumped waste, to make way for the piling works.

The plans of this project were prepared by the Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects’ Works and Infrastructure Department. It designed the structure of the new foundations and the belvedere in consultation with environmental and archaeological authorities to minimise adverse impacts on adjacent fields. 

For many years, residents in this area have been calling on the authorities to stop the gradual sinking of this road along the side of Gheriexem Valley, which is causing extensive damages to their residences, some of which are in danger of collapsing. Geotechnical investigations on site confirmed that this 800-metre road was built on layers of weak, fractured rock and clay. Its old retaining wall is cracked and irregularly distorted, showing that it is being pushed outwards by the movement of the unstable infill materials beneath the road. 

Infrastructure Malta is working to complete this project as soon as possible, to ensure the safety of road users and the area’s residents. 
 

All Marsa Junction Project flyovers now open

• 14 Nov, 2020 |

All of the seven flyovers of the Marsa Junction Project are now open to road users, facilitating direct, uninterrupted connections between the major routes converging at the busiest intersection of the Maltese road network.

On Saturday morning, Infrastructure Malta reopened the three flyovers completed in 2019 in the northbound direction, after they had been used in contraflow as a temporary southbound diversion route during the last 14 months. This week the project contractors completed the final works of these structures, including the topmost asphalt layer and expansion joints, which could not be carried out whilst they were still required in the southbound direction.    

These three flyovers are now forming direct, two-lane connections from the northbound carriageway of Santa Lucija Avenue and the northbound carriageway of Giuseppe Garibaldi Road (Luqa) towards Aldo Moro Road, Marsa, in the direction of Santa Venera, Qormi, Hamrun, Valletta and other localities in central Malta.

Last month, Infrastructure Malta opened the three flyovers beneath them, at this new grade-separated junction’s intermediate level. These flyover structures are serving the opposite direction to connect Aldo Moro Road’s southbound carriageway with Santa Lucija Avenue and Garibaldi Road, towards Santa Lucija, Tarxien, Luqa, Gudja and other destinations in the south of Malta. The agency has recently also opened the seventh flyover structure of this project, which links the northbound carriageway of Santa Lucija Avenue with new lanes to the Addolorata Cemetery and a new park and ride that is still under construction and with Il-Gvern Lokali Road, towards Qormi (Turkish Cemetery area).

Workers are now focusing on the last stretch of this project’s new lanes, which will connect the southbound carriageway of Aldo Moro Road with Sir Paul Boffa Avenue, towards Corradino, Paola and Cottonera. This final link of the new multi-level junction will be ready by the end of the year. Infrastructure Malta opened the northbound connection between these two roads, including two lanes at ground level, beneath the flyovers, last summer.  

The project’s new footpaths and pedestrian bridges, bus lanes, bus lay-bys, park and ride areas and segregated cycling tracks are in their final stages as well. The new walking and cycling track connecting Paola, Tarxien and Santa Lucija with the Marsa Sports Grounds area of Marsa will be open within a few weeks.  

Around these new connections, Infrastructure Malta is forming new landscaped areas with hundreds of new trees and four monumental public art installations. It is building underground reservoirs to harvest more than 1.5 million litres of rainwater for the irrigation of these new green areas. The project contractors are also laying 13 kilometres of underground networks, including water mains, sewers, walk-through culverts for electricity cables, Internet and other telecommunication cable ducts and stormwater pipelines.

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 connections between the arterial roads merging at this network node. It is ending traffic lights waiting times along this principal route to southern Malta, whilst reducing congestion emissions in Marsa and other nearby localities.
 

New Santa Lucija Roundabout Underpass is open

• 23 Oct, 2020 |

Infrastructure Malta opened the Santa Lucija Roundabout Underpass, creating an uninterrupted connection between Santa Lucija Avenue and Tal-Barrani Road, along the principal route to southern Malta.

These new tunnels are cutting over 30% of journey times, whilst reducing congestion emissions caused by the previous roundabout junction, which converged several busy routes, including three arterial roads and another three roads leading to Santa Lucija, Paola and Tarxien. The new grade-separated junction is shifting the busiest route of this crossroads, between Tal-Barrani Road and Santa Lucija Avenue (Addolorata Hill), to the new tunnels, facilitating commutes through the other roundabout connections as well.

Above the underpass, the agency’s contractors are now rebuilding the roundabout in a safer design, to improve access to residents in Santa Lucija, Paola and Tarxien. The Santa Lucija Roundabout Underpass Project also comprises the reconstruction of a nearby jogging track as well as a new shared pedestrian and cycling path connecting Santa Lucija to Marsa. Infrastructure Malta is also rebuilding the old Tal-Barrani Road pedestrian subway in a safer design for cyclists, with pathways that are accessible to all. 

Works on site started in summer 2019, as the project contractors cut over 80,000 tonnes of rock to form the two cut-and-cover tunnels of the new 90-metre underpass. They erected 398 precast reinforced concrete panels to build the underpass walls. Meanwhile, the contractors also formed the two 130-metre approach ramps linking Santa Lucija Avenue and Tal-Barrani Road to the underpass, as well as four slip roads leading to the roundabout above it.

Earlier this month, Infrastructure Malta completed the construction of the tunnels’ roof by pouring tonnes of concrete over a layer of 176 predalles slabs supported by 46 six-tonne reinforced concrete beams. Infrastructure Malta opened the underpass to road users on Friday (23rd October 2020), as soon as the main structures of the tunnel and its approach roads were in place. Final works inside the tunnels will continue during off peak hours or at night, in the coming months.     
 
As part of this project, workers also built a 1.1 km walk-through underground culvert, extending from Tal-Barrani Road, along Santa Lucija Avenue, to reach another similar underground tunnel network beneath the new flyovers of the Marsa Junction Project. These tunnels will accommodate one of the country’s principal 132kV high voltage electricity network connections.

Infrastructure Malta also replaced a major underground potable water distribution pipeline in the same area. Additionally, it is laying several kilometres of underground cable ducts for Internet, traffic management ICT systems and other telecommunication networks. The project also includes new reservoirs and 2.7 kilometres of stormwater pipes to store rainwater for the area’s new green areas.

The project’s new shared pedestrian and cycling path, almost a kilometre long, forms part of a longer safe cycle network connecting Luqa, Santa Lucija, Tarxien, Paola, Marsa and Qormi. The first stretch of this bi-directional path was developed as part of the reconstruction of Hal Luqa Road, next to Santa Lucija’s Garden of Serenity, in 2019. Through the Santa Lucija Roundabout Underpass Project, Infrastructure Malta has now extended it down the northbound carriageway of Santa Lucija Avenue, until it reaches Marsa, where other segregated cycling tracks and a cycling and pedestrian underpass are being developed through the Marsa Junction Project.

The Santa Lucija Roundabout Underpass Project forms part of a long-term investment along the main south-central route of Malta, extending from Pembroke and St Julian’s to Birzebbuga. It includes other arterial road upgrades along this route, such as the 2018 reconstruction of Dicembru 13 Road and the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass, the 2019 rebuilding of part of Regional Road, the Msida Valley Bridge and Hal Luqa Road, the rebuilding of Hal Qormi Road and San Tumas Road earlier this year, as well as the seven flyovers of the Marsa Junction Project. This arterial route will continue to be improved with other upcoming projects, such as new tunnels of the Pembroke-St. Julian’s Connections Project, the Msida Creek Project, the Kirkop Tunnels and Airport Intersection Project (KTAIP) in Gudja, and the Luqa Junction Project.

The Santa Lucija Roundabout Underpass Project is part-financed by the European Union’s Cohesion Fund. 

First new Central Link Project lanes

• 26 Sep, 2020 |

Infrastructure Malta opened the first new road of the Central Link Project, 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.

As the agency opened these westbound lanes, the pre-existing lanes in the same direction in Iz-Zaghfran Road, In-Nutar Zarb Road and part of L-Imdina Road, Attard, are now serving the opposite way, from Ta’ Qali to Mriehel. Through this modification, Infrastructure Malta is adding a second lane in the eastbound route as well. This new arrangement is eliminating the L-Imdina Road bottleneck at the Hal Warda area, where two lanes merge into one with houses and other buildings on either side, causing long delays and excessive traffic pollution in the centre of this locality. 

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 two new lanes start at the western end of the Mriehel Bypass, skirt the traffic lights junction next to the Malta Financial Services Authority offices and the T-Junction between L-Imdina Road and De Paule Avenue (San Anton Gardens area), as well as the centre of Attard, before merging with L-Imdina Road again in the Wied Incita area (near Mount Carmel Hospital). Along the way, the new lanes also bypass another traffic-lights-controlled junction in the centre of Attard. As a result, Infrastructure Malta switched off all the old traffic lights in this westbound route between Mriehel and Attard. The turnings previously controlled by these traffic lights are now connected through dedicated lanes for increased road safety. At the same time, the remaining traffic lights in the opposite direction can now be operated with increased efficiency, to continue reducing travel times. 

Beneath the new westbound road, Infrastructure Malta installed 10 kilometres of new underground networks, including water pipelines, sewers, electricity cables and street lighting and Internet cable ducts. It also built a stormwater catchment system and connected it to the region’s flood relief underground tunnels nearby. Workers used 4,100 tonnes of asphalt to lay the surface of these 4.4 kilometres of new lanes. Eventually, when all the project works are ready, Infrastructure Malta will reinforce this new road with a final layer of polymer modified asphalt, a stronger material that lasts longer and is more resistant to temperature variations. The agency introduced this type of heavy-duty asphalt in Malta’s arterial roads earlier this year.

When the project is ready, the new two-lane westbound arterial road will be extended all the way to Ta’ Qali, to merge with the roundabout at the foot of Saqqajja Hill. As it builds more new lanes forming part of this project, Infrastructure will eventually also upgrade the eastbound route and remove the remaining traffic lights in these lanes as well (Ta’ Qali to Mriehel).

Through this project, Infrastructure Malta is currently also building Malta’s longest bi-directional track for cyclists and pedestrians. It includes a 4.3-kilometre, asphalt-surfaced path separated from car lanes with trees, shrubs and other forms of lane segregation, providing a pleasant, safer connection between Mriehel, Birkirkara, Balzan, Attard and Ta’ Qali.

The agency’s architects designed the new westbound carriageway to have the least possible impact on nearby residential areas. This new road is detached from three adjacent residential roads, Ferdinandu Inglott Street, Oliver Agius Street and Tumas Chetcuti Street, with a landscaped area and another section of the new cycling and walking track. Moreover, Infrastructure Malta built most of the new road at a lower level, up to one storey beneath the three residential roads, to reduce its visual impact. It is also rebuilding these streets with new footpaths, underground networks and other facilities. The project contractors will complete the ongoing works in these residential roads in the coming weeks.

Launched in January 2020, Central Link Project is 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 safer infrastructure for bus passengers, pedestrians and cyclists, which are currently 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 by reconstructing 13 junctions, removing four traffic lights systems and adding over seven kilometres of new lanes along a 4.3-kilometre road corridor. Besides the new cycling and walking track, this investment also introduces other facilities for alternative modes of travel, including 10 kilometres of safe pedestrian footpaths, segregated crossings and bus lay-bys. Infrastructure Malta will also develop over 24,000 square metres of new landscaped areas along the project route.  

By eliminating existing bottlenecks and congested junctions, this investment will lead to major air quality improvements in several nearby residential areas in Mriehel, Birkirkara, Balzan and Attard. In fact, the project will reduce particulate matter 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. 
 

Santa Lucija Avenue reconstruction completed

• 25 Sep, 2020 |

Infrastructure Malta completed the reconstruction of Santa Lucija Avenue, the arterial road between the new Marsa Junction Project flyovers and the new tunnels of the Santa Lucija Roundabout Underpass Project.

The contractors of these two new multi-level intersections rebuilt Santa Lucija Avenue (also known as Addolorata Hill) in an improved design for increased safety to all road users. They also widened it to introduce a bi-directional path for cyclists and pedestrians. This path forms part of a network of footpaths and cycle lanes connecting Paola, Tarxien, Santa Lucija, Luqa and Marsa, which Infrastructure Malta is developing through these two projects and other recent road upgrades.  

This weekend the agency is reopening the two-lane southbound carriageway of this avenue, extending over one kilometre from Marsa to Santa Lucija. It will reopen the two lanes in the opposite direction in the coming weeks, as soon as it completes the final works on the Marsa Junction Project flyovers.

The northern end of Santa Lucija Avenue is linked to the seven Marsa Junction Project flyover structures leading to and from Aldo Moro Road, Giuseppe Garibaldi Road and other nearby areas in Marsa and Paola.

At the top of the hill, the south end of the avenue will soon be directly connected to Tal-Barrani Road through the new Santa Lucija Roundabout Underpass. Until these tunnels are ready, this connection will be served through the four new ramps that will eventually connect Santa Lucija Avenue and Tal-Barrani Road with the new roundabout above the underpass, towards the centre of Santa Lucija and Paola.

The reconstruction of Santa Lucija Avenue included the laying of over 3.7 kilometres of underground distribution networks, such as water mains, sewers and Internet cable ducts. Beneath the new path for cyclists and pedestrians, Infrastructure built two underground walk-through culverts accommodating 2.2 kilometres of 132kV high voltage electricity cables and spare capacity for further upgrades. This new underground tunnel network is 4.4 kilometres long, extending beneath other nearby roads all the way from Aldo Moro Road, Marsa to Tal-Barrani Road, in Tarxien. 

Santa Lucija Avenue also includes a new stormwater system with 105 catchments and a 3.1-kilometre pipeline, channelling rainwater to nearby reservoirs and other related stormwater infrastructure. At night, the road is illuminated by a new lighting system with 110 light poles and over 3.7 kilometres of underground cables. It also has 3.2 kilometres of steel crash barriers for additional safety.  

Infrastructure Malta’s contractors compacted over 15,500 tonnes of crushed material to rebuild the foundations of Santa Lucija Avenue. Workers poured another 1,000 tonnes of concrete to form the road’s new track for cyclists and pedestrians, and other footpaths. They then laid 2,800 tonnes of asphalt in the two dual-lane carriageways. For the first time in Malta’s road network, Infrastructure Malta used polymer modified asphalt, a stronger material that lasts longer and is more resistant to temperature variations. The Marsa Junction Project flyovers and the Santa Lucija Roundabout Underpass will also feature this heavy-duty asphalt.    

Over 78% of the Marsa Junction Project is ready. The construction of the structures of this project’s seven flyovers are in place. This project is reducing travel times and congestion pollution caused by the traffic lights system that controlled this junction until late last year, when the first three flyovers were opened. The other four flyover structures will be opened next month.  
 
As part of the same project, the agency is also building new footpaths, park and ride areas, cycle lanes, landscaped areas and other facilities to create safer connections for bus passengers, pedestrians and cyclists. These new facilities are scheduled to be ready by the end of the year.  

Infrastructure Malta has also completed 70% of the Santa Lucija Roundabout Underpass Project. It includes two cut-and-cover tunnels beneath the Santa Lucija roundabout, to directly connect Santa Lucija Avenue with Tal-Barrani Road. Above this underpass, contractors are rebuilding the old roundabout in a new design that facilitates safer and quicker access to the residents of Santa Lucija, Paola and Tarxien. This project will also be completed by end 2020. 

The Marsa Junction Project is co-financed through the European Union’s Cohesion Fund and the Connecting Europe Facility. The Santa Lucija Roundabout Underpass Project is also part-financed by the Cohesion Fund.

Ensuring safety of Marsa Junction Project workers

• 08 Sep, 2020 |

Infrastructure Malta is collaborating with public health authorities to ensure the safety of its employees and contractors after workers in one of its project sites tested positive for Covid-19.

The agency was informed that a few workers at the Marsa Junction Project site were diagnosed with Coronavirus. It immediately provided all required information to the health authorities and supported the project contractor to take additional measures to protect its employees and other workers on site, whilst providing the required medical assistance to the affected employees.

All workers who could have been in contact with the ones who tested positive for the virus are being requested to get tested and to self-isolate for a few weeks, whilst seeking further advice from the government's Covid-19 support services, as necessary.

Infrastructure Malta is also in talks with the Marsa Junction Project contractor to limit the impact of this situation on the completion timelines. This week, the contractor was working to complete the final works of three new flyovers and open more lanes of this €70 million multi-level intersection project. To ensure workers' safety, the opening of these lanes and flyovers may now have to be postponed by a few weeks.

Earlier this year the agency asked its contractors to implement several measures to protect workers, their families and nearby communities from the spread of Covid-19. These measures are still applicable to all its work sites, in addition to all directives issued by the health authorities for the public. 

Amongst other precautions, workers are keeping a safe distance from each other whilst on site and breaks in groups are not allowed. Meetings in enclosed areas, such as site offices, are being avoided, as the project teams are making increased use of alternative communication channels. All surfaces on site, including tools and machinery, are being cleaned more often.

Whilst reaffirming its commitment to the wellbeing of its employees, contractors and other stakeholders, Infrastructure Malta will continue to monitor the situation in constant consultation with the health authorities, to make sure that any additional measures that may be necessary are immediately implemented.