The rebuilding of the Mellieħa bypass to be completed before summer
The complete reconstruction of the Mellieħa bypass – as part of a a wider effort to reduce the risk of accidents – has begun and is expected to be completed by the beginning of summer.
Triq Louis Wettinger, better known as the Mellieħa bypass, is being rebuilt following an intervention by the Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects asking Transport Malta’s Roads and Infrastructure Directorate to redesign the bypass from scratch to make it safer without being narrowed, as was originally planned.
Thanks to this investment of around €2 million, the safety of all users of this road will be further ensured by means of new crash barriers on the outer edges of the carriageway and a new central strip with crash barriers dividing the lanes in opposite directions. Simultaneously, the entire road – which has to date never had lights installed – will also have a new system of street lights.
Apart from the four lanes for cars, with two in each direction, this bypass will also feature a 1.4-kilometre-long cycle lane. Finally, this project also includes the redesign of some of the junctions connecting this road to others which open up into it, such as the Miżieb road and other roads which lead to residential zones in Mellieħa.
The original plans for the redesign of the Mellieħa bypass, designed years ago, included the removal of one of the four bypass lanes as a safety measure. In fact, other parts of this bypass, as well as other parts of the route between Mellieħa and Ċirkewwa, had already been reduced to three or two lanes in past years when they were rebuilt as part of a project financed by the European Union.
A few weeks ago, the Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects asked Transport Malta to reconsider the original plans for the reconstruction of the bypass with the aim of retaining the road’s four lanes. After these plans were revised, the authority’s architects confirmed that the bypass could be improved with several safety measures without being narrowed down to three lanes. The new technical plans were discussed with the Mellieħa Local Council and the necessary work was initiated by several contractors in the past few days.