Infrastructure Malta opens new Marsa-Hamrun Bypass slip roads

• 02 Sep, 2020 |

Infrastructure Malta opened new slip roads and lanes linking the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass with nearby roads, as part of a €2.25 million project to improve connections between Birkirkara, Santa Venera, Hal Qormi, Hamrun and Marsa.

The new connections include a slip road from Il-Kanun Road, Santa Venera to the southbound carriageway of the Bypass and a second lane in the off-slip from the same carriageway towards Hal Qormi Road, in the direction of Hamrun or Qormi. They introduce a more efficient alternative to existing routes through narrower streets in the same area, shifting through traffic from nearby residential zones to the arterial road network. This investment will cut journey times in this area whilst reducing accident risks and improving air quality for many families living in nearby streets. 

The new lanes are now open to road users as the project nears its completion. In recent months, the agency widened the scope of the project to rebuild the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass flyover wing walls and sections of the retaining wall of the Santa Venera Tunnels’ southbound exit ramp, in the same area. These structures were built decades ago and needed extensive repairs and reinforcements to avoid the risk of collapse or other public safety risks. 

Two of the flyover wing walls and the tunnel exit ramp’s retaining wall are almost ready. To date, the project contractors built over 850 metres of new walls as part of this project, with some reaching up to 10 metres high. Lanes that were closed due to these reconstruction works have now been reopened. In the coming weeks Infrastructure Malta will rebuild the remaining wing walls, adding up to another 170 metres of vertical precast concrete structures. Its contractors will then modify and resurface the roundabout beneath the flyover, to complete the project by the end of the year. 

The Marsa-Hamrun Bypass brings together several arterial routes of the European Union’s Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) in Malta. The ongoing project to improve its connections with nearby localities is augmenting the benefits of another €5 million investment to reconstruct and widen this road in 2018. 

The project extends from Il-Kanun (Cannon) Road, Santa Venera, along the southbound carriageway of the Bypass, to the multi-level roundabout and flyover junction connecting it to Hal Qormi Road, Qormi (near the Maltapost offices).

Workers rebuilt and extended an existing, disused road next to the Bypass to connect Il-Kanun Road, in Santa Venera, with the southbound carriageway of the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass. This new on-slip creates a quicker connection from Qormi, Birkirkara, Hamrun, and Santa Venera towards Valletta and the south of Malta. It also provides an alternative to the existing route through the roundabout beneath the Mriehel Bypass flyover, in Qormi. 

The other part of this project includes the new second lane along the off-slip connecting the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass to the Hal Qormi Road roundabout and flyover junction, facilitating access to Hal Qormi Road, towards Qormi and to the centre of Hamrun. To link the two new connections, Infrastructure Malta is also opening a fourth southbound lane along the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass. This lane was built when the road was reconstructed in 2018, in preparation for the new links. These upgrades are adding over 600 metres of lanes to the existing network, as well as new footpaths for safer pedestrian access.

Through a separate project launched a few months ago, Infrastructure Malta is currently also transforming the 350-metre wall built in 2018 along the side of the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass into Malta’s longest vertical garden. This long green wall along one of Malta’s busiest roads will feature thousands of evergreen indigenous plants irrigated through an automated system connected to a nearby reservoir.

112 piles for Gheriexem Road’s new foundations

• 12 Aug, 2020 |

Infrastructure Malta is drilling the first of 112 pile holes to form the new foundations of Gheriexem Road, in Rabat and stop 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 with reinforced foundations, improved carriageway alignment and a belvedere with a footpath, benches overlooking the valley and landscaped areas with many new trees. 

The agency’s contractors started the project a few weeks ago with the preparatory archaeological excavations in the strip of land along the road’s old retaining wall, where the new foundations will be built. Under the guidance of the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, archaeologists supervised the digging of several trial pits to survey the area’s archaeology. Based on the results of these surveys, the Superintendence and Infrastructure Malta identified the excavation and pile coring methods that can be used in this area. Workers subsequently cleaned the site from decades of illegally dumped waste, positioned concrete blocks next to the existing retaining walls to temporarily support the road above and levelled parts of the site in preparation for the piling works.

On Wednesday, the project contractors started the drilling of the first cores for the embedding of two rows of steel-reinforced concrete piles up to 15-metres (5 storeys) into the ground. Each pile will have a diameter of 0.6 metres. They will support the weight of the new structure required to consolidate the road, the new belvedere and nearby buildings.

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, whilst safeguarding any buried historical remains that may exist in this archaeologically sensitive area. Archaeologists approved by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage are monitoring the ongoing excavations and all other earthworks required for this project. 

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 is 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 deep infill materials beneath the road. As rainwater seeps through the cracks in the road, it creates further pressure on this weak retaining wall. The road and several adjacent buildings are at risk of collapsing, similar to what happened a short distance away along part of Saqqajja Hill, during a storm a few months ago. 

Infrastructure Malta is working to complete this project as soon as possible, to ensure the safety of road users and the area’s residents. Its contractors are seeking to complete most of the excavation works during the dry season because the accumulation of rainwater on site during this stage of the project risks accelerating the deterioration of the road and nearby structures.

In the meantime, Infrastructure Malta is currently also carrying out similar piling works in a separate €1 million project to consolidate the upper section of Saqqajja Hill and repair the recent storm damage to its retaining walls. Workers are embedding 38 concrete piles over six storeys deep into the ground to strengthen the road structure and secure nearby buildings, including the historical Santo Spirito Hospital. 

Gheriexem Belvedere Project works launched

• 27 Jul, 2020 |

Infrastructure Malta is starting the reconstruction of Gheriexem Road, in Rabat, to stop decades of subsidence damage to its structure and to nearby buildings, and to improve its pedestrian access with a new belvedere.

Through this €4 million investment, the agency is rebuilding this road with reinforced foundations, improved carriageway alignment and a belvedere with a footpath, benches overlooking the valley and landscaped areas with many new trees. Whilst the two-lane carriageway is not being widened, a narrow strip of additional land along the existing road is required for the footpath, and to embed two rows of deep concrete piles that will consolidate the road and adjacent buildings.

 
The structure of the new foundations and the belvedere was designed in consultation with environmental and archaeological authorities to minimise adverse impacts on adjacent fields, whilst safeguarding any buried historical remains that may exist in this archaeologically sensitive area. Archaeologists approved by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage are monitoring the project works.    

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 is 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 deep infill materials beneath the road. As rainwater seeps through the cracks in the road, it creates further pressure on this weak retaining wall. 

The road and several adjacent buildings are at risk of collapsing, similar to what happened a short distance away, along the upper part of Saqqajja Hill, during a storm a few months ago. In view of this public safety concern, Infrastructure Malta is collaborating with the Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects, which designed the project plans, and with the planning, environmental and archaeological authorities, to start the required road consolidation and reconstruction works immediately. 

The agency is expediting the works to ensure that most of the underground excavation works can be completed during the dry season. Accumulation of rainwater on site whilst coring and other excavation works are in progress risks accelerating the deterioration of the road and its dilapidated retaining wall.
 
This week, the agency’s contractors started the preparatory archaeological excavations, before the urgently-needed structural works to consolidate this road can get underway. Archaeologists approved by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage are supervising the digging of trial pits to survey the area’s archaeology. Based on the results of these surveys, the Superintendence will determine the method of excavation and pile coring required to safeguard any buried archaeological remains. The drilling of cores for the concrete piles will start as soon as the ongoing surveys are completed.

First new Central Link Project road opening end September

• 24 Jul, 2020 |

Infrastructure Malta is opening the first new road of Central Link Project, a two-lane westbound carriageway from Balzan to the Wied Incita area of Attard, by the end of September.

Central Link Project is a €55 million investment to reduce travel times, improve air quality and create safer spaces for alternative modes of travel along the principal arterial road corridor in Central Malta, between Mriehel and Ta’ Qali.

This week, contractors started laying asphalt on parts of the project’s first new road, after forming its structure and laying its underground networks earlier this year. At the same time, the agency is launching works on another phase of this project, including the widening of the western end of L-Imdina Road, from Wied Incita to Ta’ Qali, for two new lanes and a new segregated cycling and walking track. Infrastructure Malta is extending this track all the way to Mriehel, to develop the longest cycling route of its kind ever built in Malta.  

The two new westbound (Mriehel to Ta’ Qali) lanes opening in September start at the T-Junction between L-Imdina Road and De Paule Avenue (San Anton Gardens area) and bypass the centre of Attard before merging with L-Imdina Road again in the Wied Incita area (near Mount Carmel Hospital). When the project is ready, the new lanes will eliminate several bottlenecks and inefficient traffic lights junctions impacting the centre of Attard, Balzan, Lija and Birkirkara, whilst opening space for wider footpaths, safer pedestrian crossings, improved bus lay-bys, new segregated cycling tracks and more landscaped areas.

To form this part of the road, workers excavated 50,000 tonnes of rock and other materials. They built 2.8 kilometres of retaining and boundary walls and used 32 tonnes of subbase material to lay the carriageway’s foundations. Beneath the new road surface, Infrastructure Malta installed 10 kilometres of new underground networks, including water pipelines, sewers, electricity cables and street lighting and Internet cable ducts. They also built a stormwater catchment system that will be connected to the region’s flood relief underground tunnels nearby.

The agency’s architects designed the new westbound carriageway to have the least possible impact on nearby residential areas. This new road is separated from three nearby residential roads, Ferdinandu Inglott Street, Oliver Agius Street and Tumas Chetcuti Street, with a landscaped area and another section of the new three-metre segregated bi-directional cycling and walking track. Moreover, Infrastructure Malta built most of the new road at a lower level, up to three metres (one storey) beneath the three residential roads, to reduce its visual impact as well. It is also rebuilding these streets with new footpaths, underground networks and other facilities, as part of the same project. 
  
The development of the long-awaited Central Link Project started last January with the formation of the first sections of the new carriageway that will be opened in September. This 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. It also introduces many facilities for alternative modes of travel, including 10 kilometres of safe pedestrian footpaths and segregated crossings, bus lay-bys and the longest segregated cycle track in the Maltese Islands, connecting Mriehel, Birkirkara, Balzan, Attard and Ta’ Qali. Infrastructure Malta will also develop over 24,000 square metres of new landscaped areas along the project route.    

Air quality studies conducted by independent experts during the planning stage of the project show that 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.

Final phases of Marsa-Hamrun Bypass connections project

• 03 Jul, 2020 |

Infrastructure Malta is launching the final phases of a €2.25 million project to improve the connections of the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass with nearby localities, including Birkirkara, Santa Venera, Hal Qormi, Hamrun and Marsa.

The construction of the new connections is almost ready. However, in recent months, the agency widened the scope of this project to rebuild and reinforce parts of the old wing wall structures of this road’s flyover and sections of the retaining wall of the Santa Venera Tunnels’ southbound exit ramp, in the same area. These structures were built decades ago and needed extensive repairs and reinforcements to avoid the risk of collapse or other public safety risks. Infrastructure Malta is rebuilding over 750 meters of retaining walls and wing walls through this additional €600,000 investment.

The Marsa-Hamrun Bypass brings together several arterial routes of the European Union’s Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) in Malta. The ongoing project to improve its connections with nearby localities will augment the benefits of another €5 million investment to reconstruct and widen this road in 2018. 

The new connections include a slip road and an exit ramp to create a more efficient alternative to existing routes through narrower streets in the same area, shifting through traffic from residential zones to the arterial road network. In this way, the project will cut journey times for many commuters whilst reducing accident risks and improving air quality in nearby residential areas. 

The project extends from Il-Kanun (Cannon) Road, Santa Venera, along the southbound carriageway of the Bypass, to the multi-level roundabout and flyover junction connecting it to Hal Qormi Road, Qormi (near the Maltapost offices).

Workers are rebuilding and extending an existing, disused road next to the Bypass to connect Il-Kanun Road, in Santa Venera, with the southbound carriageway of the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass. This slip road will introduce a quicker connection from Qormi, Birkirkara, Hamrun, and Santa Venera towards Valletta and the south of Malta. It will also provide an alternative to the existing route through the roundabout beneath the Mriehel Bypass flyover, in Qormi. As part of the construction of this new connection, workers are currently also rebuilding sections of the 10-metre high retaining walls separating this road from the Santa Venera Tunnels exit ramp located next to it, at a lower level. 

The other part of this project includes the addition of a second lane along the off-slip connecting the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass to the Hal Qormi Road roundabout and flyover junction, facilitating access to Hal Qormi Road, towards Qormi, and to the centre of Hamrun. Infrastructure Malta completed the construction of this new lane earlier this year. It is now open to road users instead of the pre-existing lane, which is temporarily closed for the rebuilding of the flyover wing wall. As this work nears completion, the agency’s contractors are working to rebuild and open the closed lane soon. 
 
To link the two new connections, Infrastructure Malta is also opening a fourth southbound lane along the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass. This lane was built when the road was reconstructed in 2018, in preparation for the new links that Infrastructure Malta is currently developing. This project will add over 600 metres of lanes to the existing network, as well as new footpaths for safer pedestrian access.

Earlier this year, as part of this project, the agency’s contractors also extended a walk-through cables culvert that was built as part of the road’s reconstruction in 2018. This tunnel houses high voltage cables forming part of the national electricity grid. By placing cables in such culverts instead of burying them beneath the asphalt surface, any repairs or maintenance works to the electricity cables within can be carried out without the need to dig up the road. Workers are also laying new underground cable ducts to reinforce the networks providing Internet and other telecommunication services in the area, as well as new stormwater pipelines and catchments, to reduce flooding risks. 

Infrastructure Malta is working to open the new Marsa-Hamrun Bypass connections later this summer. All project works, including the rebuilding of the retaining walls and wing walls, will be ready by the end of the year. 

Through a separate project launched a few months ago, Infrastructure Malta is currently also transforming the 350-metre wall built in 2018 along the side of the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass into Malta’s longest vertical garden. This long green wall along one of Malta’s busiest roads will feature thousands of evergreen indigenous plants irrigated through an automated system connected to a nearby reservoir.
 

Tunnel breakthrough completes Santa Lucija Underpass excavations

• 24 Jun, 2020 |

Infrastructure Malta completed the excavation of the Santa Lucija Roundabout Underpass, as workers broke through the last stretch of rock separating Tal-Barrani Road from Santa Lucija Avenue, along the main route to southern Malta.

This project includes two new cut-and-cover tunnels beneath the Santa Lucija roundabout, to directly connect the southbound and northbound carriageways of Santa Lucija Avenue (Addolorata Hill) with Tal-Barrani Road. Above this underpass, a new roundabout will facilitate safer and quicker access to the residents of Santa Lucija, Paola and Tarxien. The project also comprises the reconstruction of a nearby jogging track, the upgrading of the Tal-Barrani Road pedestrian subway to be also accessible to cyclists and to persons with disability, as well as a new shared pedestrian and cycling path connecting Santa Lucija to Marsa. 

Over 60% of this project is now ready. Despite recent Covid-19 limitations, Infrastructure Malta is planning to complete all remaining works by the end of the year, as originally planned. In recent months, the project contractors cut over 80,000 tonnes of rock to form the new 90-metre underpass. As part of Infrastructure Malta’s efforts to reduce the environmental impact of road construction, where possible, this material is being reused for other works on site, or for other construction and landscaping projects. 

Infrastructure Malta is using 398 precast reinforced concrete panels to form the underpass walls, including a central structure separating its two tubes, one in each direction. 299 of these panels are already in place. Now that excavation works are ready, the rest will be secured in their final position in the coming weeks. 

Since the project started in July 2019, workers also formed the two 130-metre approach ramps linking Santa Lucija Avenue and Tal-Barrani Road to the underpass. They also built four slip roads leading to the new roundabout above the underpass, to connect this route with the centre of Paola, Tarxien and Santa Lucija. These slip roads are now being used as temporary diversion routes, until the underpass construction is completed. 

During the last few months, 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 built 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 is also replacing a major underground potable water distribution pipeline in the same area. It is laying several kilometres of underground cable ducts for Internet, traffic management ICT systems and other telecommunication networks as well. New reservoirs and 2.7 kilometres of stormwater pipes to store rainwater for the area’s new green areas are also in progress.

The project’s new shared pedestrian and cycling path, almost a kilometre long, will form part of a longer safe cycle route 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 tunnels project, Infrastructure Malta will extend 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 reconstruction 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 ongoing construction of new connections between the Marsa-Hamrun Bypass and other nearby areas and 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.
 

Four bidders in the running for Malta Gozo Tunnel Project

• 04 Jun, 2020 |

Four bidders responded to Infrastructure Malta’s pre-qualification questionnaire to participate in the first of a three-stage process to identify the concessionaire who will design, build, finance, operate and maintain the Malta-Gozo Tunnel.

In this stage of the process, which was launched last January, the agency invited prospective bidders to provide information and documentation that demonstrates their experience in similar tunnel developments, that confirms their environmental and health and safety record and that attests they possess the technical and financial resources to successfully implement this project.

Infrastructure Malta issued this call through an announcement in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) and in the Government’s online procurement system – www.etenders.gov.mt (IM049/2019). Originally, prospective bidders had until Thursday 9th April 2020 to submit the PQQ. However, the agency subsequently accepted requests from potential bidders to extend this deadline to Thursday 4th June 2020, in line with applicable regulations.

The four competitors who submitted their PQQ by Thursday’s 1000hrs deadline include two consortia and two companies. They are Salini Impregilo S.p. A., CGYI Malta Gozo Consortium, Equitix – Itochu – Yapi Merkezi – Makyol – Egis Consortium and Malta Gozo Fixed Link Limited. They include companies from Malta and several other countries, including Italy, Turkey, France, China, the Netherlands, South Korea and Japan.

An evaluation board will now assess the pre-qualification questionnaires based on pre-established criteria defined it the PQQ documentation published in January. It will then invite the successful competitors to proceed to the next stages of this procurement process.  

The Malta-Gozo Tunnel Project includes the development of a 14-kilometre, partly subsea, tunnel accommodating two vehicle lanes, one in each direction and a wide central buffer offering additional space for emergency vehicles. This permanent connection between the two islands will alleviate the long-standing limitations of existing sea and air links, which deter the social and economic advancement opportunities of many Gozitan families and businesses. 

Through the three-stage selection process launched in January, Infrastructure Malta is identifying a concessionaire to develop and operate the tunnel for a pre-defined number of years. The duration of the concession will be determined in the final stages of this process. At the end of the concession period, the concessionaire will be required to transfer the tunnel infrastructure to the Government. 

The call for the PQQ indicated that the Government’s preferred option is for this project to be self-financed, without any form of guarantees or subsidies. Details on tolls or other fees for tunnel users were not being requested in the PQQ stage. They will be identified during the final stage, which will focus on the bidders’ financial proposals.

The successful bidders of the initial PQQ stage will qualify for the second stage, which includes an Invitation to Participate in Dialogue (ITPD). During this stage, participants shall submit detailed technical plans of the proposed tunnel structure as well as the implementation, operation and maintenance solutions they would adopt if entrusted with the concession. Each participant will be invited to dialogue meetings to explain the proposal to the evaluation team analysing each proposal.

The selection process will be concluded with the Best and Final Offer (BAFO) stage. Bidders who participate in the ITPD stage will be requested to submit a final proposal for the project. This will include a detailed technical and financial offer based on the solution proposed in the previous stage. The selection team will then identify and recommend the best offer based on pre-established criteria. 

The planning of the Malta-Gozo Tunnel Project started several years ago as Transport Malta launched several technical, social and economic studies assessing the project’s viability. Infrastructure Malta was entrusted with this project when it was established in 2018. Soon after, in December of the same year, it issued a pre-information notice, which announced its intention to launch a competitive process to select the concessionaires that will develop this new infrastructure. 

In 2019, Infrastructure Malta intensified work on the preliminary studies necessary to launch this process. Nine studies, each comprising several reports, and other technical data, were made available to the public and to prospective bidders as part of the PQQ documentation. They include preliminary geophysical and geological investigations based on land and seabed core samples extracted along the proposed tunnel route, traffic flow studies, terrestrial and marine surveys and more.

A team of independent experts approved by the planning and environmental authorities are also conducting an extensive environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the proposed project. This study will be completed after the final proposed tunnel plans are confirmed through the ongoing procurement process, so that the assessment can take into consideration all specifications of the final design. Once completed, the EIA will be published for public consultation as part of the established planning and environmental authorities’ process to determine the project permits.  
 

Gort Street junction upgrade nearing completion

• 29 May, 2020 |

Infrastructure Malta is completing a €1.5 million upgrade of the Gort Street roundabout junction, for improved access to Paceville and Spinola and for increased pedestrian and bus passenger safety.

This roundabout is a crossroads between Sant’Andrija (St Andrew’s) Road, Gort Street and Marguerite Mangion Street, and is one of the main access points to Paceville and Spinola. Two major bus stops serving public transport routes to St Julian’s, Sliema, Valletta, the Airport and several other destinations are located within the same area. The junction also includes the entrance to several nearby large-scale residential and commercial developments.

Earlier this month, the agency’s contractors started rebuilding the junction in a new, improved design, including safer roundabout approach lanes and improved spaces for more sustainable modes of travel. After consulting all stakeholders, Infrastructure Malta scheduled the required works to be carried out in recent weeks, as Covid-19 containment measures decreased the number of road users travelling to this popular commercial and entertainment zone.  

As part of this project, Infrastructure Malta introduced new bus lay-bys accommodating more than one bus at the same time, and rebuilt all footpaths leading to them. Where technically possible, these footpaths were widened for increased pedestrian safety. The agency is also rebuilding the junction’s pedestrian crossings. Beneath the road surface, contractors also laid new underground water, electricity, Internet and other telecommunication distribution networks. The junction and the roads leading to it will now have a new street lighting system, illuminating the carriageways and footpaths.

This junction upgrade, which is expected to be completed within a few weeks, is one of several Infrastructure Malta investments to improve the safety, efficiency and sustainability of this region’s road network. The agency is currently also implementing a similar upgrade at the Sant’ Andrija Road crossroads with adjacent streets in Pembroke and the High Ridge area of Swieqi, for safer access to nearby schools and to the residential areas of these localities.

This €1.6 million project includes a new roundabout junction, new lay-bys with improved facilities for bus passengers and new footpaths and pedestrian crossings for easier access to the nearby schools, sports facilities and residential areas.

Last year, Infrastructure Malta completed the upgrade of the Spinola junction, a crucial node connecting Sant’ Andrija Road and Mikiel Anton Vassalli Road (the main north-south arterial route of Malta), Gorg Borg Olivier Road (Sliema seafront road), San Gorg Road (towards Paceville) and another two residential roads. The capacity of this junction was increased to reduce travel times, collision risks and congestion emissions in the area. This project also included safer bus lay-bys and a reorganisation of the area’s on-street parking bays, amongst other works.       

Infrastructure Malta is currently also planning Pembroke-St Julian’s Connections, a multi-million project encompassing the arterial road network connecting Madliena, Pembroke, Swieqi, St Julian’s, Paceville and the Sliema conurbation’s road network. This investment will include the construction of new roads and tunnels, and the rebuilding of Sant’ Andrija Road and several junctions along the way.
 

Introducing Luqa Junction Project

• 23 May, 2020 |

Infrastructure Malta is introducing the Luqa Junction Project, a 2021 investment 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 upcoming Kirkop Tunnels and Airport Intersection Project, which will see 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, as it is currently doing around the new roads of the Marsa Junction Project.

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 working to conclude the required permitting and procurement processes of this project by the end of the year. It is currently also consulting several stakeholders to discuss and augment the project’s benefits. Works on site are planned for 2021, in conjunction with the Kirkop Tunnels and Airport Intersection Project (KTAIP), which is scheduled to commence later this year. The KTAIP includes the reconstruction of the Airport roundabout, at the other end of L-Avjazzjoni Avenue, into a multi-level intersection with two tunnels and a flyover. 

The Luqa Junction Project and the KTAIP may be co-financed through the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility.

Major projects to upgrade gateway to southern Malta advancing rapidly

• 13 May, 2020 |

Infrastructure Malta is working to complete the Marsa Junction Project and the Santa Lucija Roundabout Underpass Project, two multi-million investments along the main route to southern Malta, by the end of the year.

In the coming days, the agency’s contractors will be using 1,280 tonnes of asphalt to lay the base layers of the surface of some of these projects’ new lanes, including the northbound carriageway of Santa Lucija Avenue as well as the lanes that will link this road to the Addolorata Cemetery, to the Marsa Junction Project’s new park and ride facilities and to other new roads in the same area. 

Over 65% of the Marsa Junction Project is ready. The construction of the structures of this project’s seven flyovers are now in place. Over 100,000 road users travel through this junction every day to and from several localities in southern Malta. 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.  

Preparations to start laying asphalt over the other four flyovers are in progress as well. Whilst the ongoing measures to contain the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic have limited the availability of human resources required to complete the final works of these flyovers, Infrastructure Malta is still aiming to open them to road users by end June 2020, as originally planned. 

The agency is also building new footpaths, park and ride areas, cycle lanes, landscaped areas, reservoirs and other facilities to create safer connections for bus passengers, pedestrians and cyclists, encouraging commuters to shift to more sustainable modes of travel. These new facilities are scheduled to be ready by the end of the year.  

Infrastructure Malta has recently also exceeded the halfway mark of the Santa Lucija Roundabout Underpass Project. This project includes two cut-and-cover tunnels beneath the Santa Lucija roundabout, to directly connect Santa Lucija Avenue (Addolorata Hill) with Tal-Barrani Road. Above this underpass, the existing roundabout will be rebuilt in a new design that facilitates safer and quicker access to the residents of Santa Lucija, Paola and Tarxien. 

The excavation of the 130-metre approach ramps to the tunnels on either side of the roundabout is almost ready. Infrastructure Malta’s contractors are now excavating the final section of this connection, beneath the roundabout. Most of the retaining walls of the approach ramps are ready as well. Infrastructure Malta is using 398 precast reinforced concrete panels to form these walls. The construction of the four slip roads connecting the roundabout to Santa Lucija Avenue and Tal-Barrani Road is in progress as well. In the coming months, these ramps will be used as temporary diversion lanes, to complete the final section of the tunnel structure.

The project also includes the redesign and reconstruction of a nearby jogging track, the upgrading of the Tal-Barrani Road pedestrian subway to be also accessible to cyclists and to persons with disability, as well as a new shared pedestrian and cycling path connecting Santa Lucija to the new pedestrian and cycling facilities of the Marsa Junction Project.
 
The project’s new shared pedestrian and cycling path, almost a kilometre long, will form part of a longer safe cycle route 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. Infrastructure Malta is now extending 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 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.